Witch Hunt
by girlonthehill
Summary: Two new students at Spenser aren't the only ones searching for the witches of Ipswich. Tyler/OC. Rated T for language
1. Chapter 1

**Witch Hunt**

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Dan and Summer

AN: This is my first fic. Not entirely sure where it's going yet, so I'm up for suggestions.

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**Chapter One**

"Remind me again why we transferred to this place?" I whispered to Dan.

The rest of the class carried on their snobby conversations around us. It was crazy. We'd been there for months, a whole semester, and still no one talked to us voluntarily. I swear we don't look like freaks or anything, but it was as if Dan and I were invisible. We just didn't register on the Spenser radar.

"Because there are others. Dad told us that there's a group of them in Ipswich, about our age, and it stands to reason that power leads to wealth, leads to snobby brat school." Dan whispered back.

"It's freakin' ridiculous. Who says they aren't at some other waste of money academy?"

"No one says. But we have to start looking somewhere. And anyway, you helped convince the lawyers to send us here, don't lay this on me."

Yeah, that's right, lawyers. No parents any more. They died during the summer, mountaineering in Peru. Needless to say, our summer vacation sucked. I was actually kind of looking forward to starting school. New place, new faces. There's only so many pitying faces you can take, and there certainly aren't any here. No one knows, because no one seems to care. When I moved in, my roommate asked me where I was from (New York City), why I'd transferred to Spenser (cue some lie about ivy league) and whether I was dating Dan (NO! He's my brother). She looked Dan over as he stood in the doorway waiting for me – same brown hair as me, though his was a lot shorter, same grey eyes, but obviously he wasn't hot enough, or wearing the right shoes or something, because she didn't even say hi when she brushed past him. Since then all she'd done was tell me to keep my half of the room tidy.

The teacher coughed loudly from the front of the class and the hum of conversation died.

"Good morning class. I trust you all had a refreshing Christmas break. I also trust that you all managed to read the first 3 chapters of The Shining?"

At any normal school, this would have been met by groans or sniggers, but not Spenser. Freaks. They're either brainy scholarship students who work their butts off, or their parents make generous 'donations' to the academy to ensure that their lazy asses don't get kicked out.

Tuning out (which wasn't hard) I stared at the faces around me, wondering if any of them were other witches.

Oh, yeah, sorry. Witches. That's what we were looking for. That's what Dan and I are. It's a hereditary thing. Dad was, so we are. The oldest in the family, male or female, always cops it. They're usually pretty lonely, but due to some mystical cockup Dan and I both scored the Power. We are twins, so it's kind of understandable I guess. We started getting our powers when we were fifteen, so Dad sat us down and told us what he knew. Which wasn't much. He said there were other families of witches, though the handing down of power happened differently for different lines. It was always the oldest, but sometimes only girls, or only boys, could receive the Power. Sometimes they didn't get any power until their parent died, sometimes it happened on a birthday, sometimes during a traumatic event. Dad said that there were individual families like ours, but that he also knew of groups – one in Ipswich, another somewhere in England and another in Japan. Unfortunately, he wasn't more specific, and at the time we didn't ask.

Seeing as the latter two were a bit too distant, Dan and I had decided over summer to find our Ipswich brethren. We wanted to know more, and thought it would be cool to join a group. Or a coven, or whatever a bunch of witches is called. Hence the nightmare of Spenser, when we could have gotten into college just fine from our school in New York. Luckily, the lawyers were pretty blasé about the whole thing, and Dad had left enough money. We turned 18 a week after Mom and Dad died (Happy Birthday!), so we didn't have to contend with legal guardians, thank god.

But yes, we were looking for other witches. There didn't seem to be too many candidates in the class. Quite honestly, there didn't seem to be too many candidates in the whole school. We'd quietly checked out all the goth looking kids (not that there were many), but being the real world, it was entirely probable that a witch wouldn't dress in black, own a cat and ride a broomstick to school. We certainly didn't.

The face I was staring came suddenly into focus as the blonde boy across the room raised an eyebrow at me. Caught staring. How embarrassing. Still, looking away would only make it worse, so I raised an eyebrow in return. Reid Garwin. Arrogant ass. He tapped his fingers on his bottom lip and wiggled his eyebrows a bit more. I was about to turn my stare into a glare when the teacher interrupted.

"Summer Jones!" Shit. I turned quickly to look at him.

"Yes sir?"

"I was merely musing as to whether you were paying any attention at all, and wondering whether you would care to comment on the paragraph of description on the top of page 5?"

The witch hunting would have to wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing

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**Chapter Two**

Summer and I spent most of our evenings together in the common room. It was a pretty boring place, but generally we had homework, or we'd sit and talk and watch the other students. Summer thought they were all snobs, because they usually ignored us, but I suspect maybe that was a bit her fault. She gave off a tough vibe, and had these 'if murder wasn't a crime' glares, which are quite frankly scary. The other students seaw us as fairly self-contained and just didn't see the point in risking a Summer-glare.

For a Thursday night, there were quite a few people hanging out around the room. At the start of the year, a lot of the students would spend their nights in town, at a place called Nicky's, but the academy had a bit of a crackdown after the Fall Fest. One of the guys in our class, Chase Collins, disappeared, and the day before that another guy had a motorbike accident. Seemed the faculty didn't want to be held responsible for any more student incidents. I glanced around, thinking. Surely if there were a group of witches there they'd hang out together. And their parents would have been friends too, so I was looking for a family friends type gang.

I noticed that Caleb Danvers hadn't left yet. He lived with his mother, but he was sitting on a sofa across the room talking quietly to his blonde girlfriend, Sarah. Caleb's a model student at Spenser. Everybody's golden boy. The provost loved him, but somehow so did all the students. Swimming, I guess. I was something like that at our old school in New York, but here the sport was swimming, not basketball, and here nobody knew me.

Caleb's friend Pogue, and his girlfriend Kate joined them on the sofa. Pogue was another swimming golden boy, but his motorbike and adrenalin addiction made him less popular with the provost. Pogue didn't stay on campus either, though I wasn't sure where he actually did live. Caleb and Pogue were half of a group of boys who were jokingly referred to as the Sons of Ipswich. Founding families or some such.

Families.

"Families," I muttered.

"Huh?" Summer looked up from The Shining.

"Families. The Sons of Ipswich are family friends right?"

"I guess."

"Well, it stands to reason that if there was a coven here, with hereditary powers, then the families involved would stick together."

"You think those boys are our witches?" Summer spoke quietly, but she seemed interested.

"Yeah, could be. I should have thought of that before. Think about it. The four of them are pretty different, but they're close friends. They go off and do family stuff all the time. They're rich, smart, popular, everything goes well for them."

"Huh. You know, you could be right." She lapsed into silence. "So how do we find out for sure? We can't exactly just go up and ask if they do magic."

"No. But if we corner one of them, we could use a bit. They'd be able to feel it if they are, and wouldn't know a thing if they're not."

It was a good plan, I thought.

"Ok. Who?"

I thought about it for a second before deciding. "Caleb seems to be their leader. If we talk to him, the others will believe him. When he leaves tonight. We can wait by his car."

* * *

And so it was that I found myself standing next to Dan, freezing my ass off. We'd left the common room half and hour ago, expecting that Caleb would be leaving soon. I felt like going back inside and hauling him out to get this over and done with. It was COLD. The students' cars were parked along the edge of the gymnasium, a newish brick building. We stood in the shadows like a couple of crooks.

Finally there was the crunch of feet on gravel and I saw Caleb coming towards his car. Towards us. He spotted us pretty quickly, loitering near his expensive car. His eyes narrowed.

"Hi Caleb!" I said brightly. Dan put his head down and closed his eyes, so that Caleb couldn't see his eyes turn black.

"Who…" Caleb went suddenly quiet at the same time as I felt Dan use.

Bingo.

"You're a witch!" I smiled at him. I had hoped it was a non-threatening, friendly kind of smile, but apparently not. Even in the dark I saw Caleb's eyes flash amber and go black.

"Who are you?" he growled.

Dan raised his head to show Caleb that his eyes were back to their normal grey.

"We're witches too," he explained.

"What do you mean? How?" Caleb certainly didn't seem too thrilled.

"How?" Dan echoed. "Same way as you. Inherited. We came looking for you."

Before either of us could move or even think about using, Caleb gestured and we were both invisibly pinned against the side of the building, feet dangling a foot from the ground.

"Friendly," I muttered. He was strong. I reached for the Power and tried to wriggle free at the same time as reasoning with Caleb. "We're not out to get you. We just wanted to find more people with the Power." I poked at prodded at his power, but couldn't find a weakness. "Our parents left without telling us much about it, but they told us there were more people like us. A whole group in Ipswich. So we came here. Didn't really expect this kind of response."

Dan was quiet, but I felt where he was pushing at Caleb's power, so I joined in.

"Hey! What do you kids think you're doing?" A flashlight beam skimmed towards us, so that Caleb had to let us go, or risk being seen with black eyes and two kids in midair. Dan and I managed to hit the ground without falling, while Caleb called out.

"Nothing sir. I was just talking to…er… my two friends about our English assignment."

The guard grunted as he reached us, but seemed satisfied and so continued along the row of cars.

"We honestly don't want to hurt you," Dan spoke quietly while the security guard was still in sight. "You can take us to the others, ask whatever questions you want. Anything."

Caleb sighed. "Fine. But you don't use." Just to make sure, he pinned us to the wall again, though this time at least our feet were still on the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing

Thanks everyone for the reviews :) Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

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**Chapter Three**

It was a sleepless night. The first bit sucked – trying to convince the Sons that we weren't evil. Seemed they'd had a problem ealier in the year with the Chase kid who disappeared. A long-lost-but-turned-evil son apparently. But after they were finally convinced, the night got better. We all sat in Reid and Tyler's dorm room, trading histories. Dan and I didn't have much to tell, but the Sons (Dan was right about the four of them) had some pretty cool stories.

Dan was right, the Sons, or the Covenant as they called themselves, were all different. Caleb was definitely the leader-type. You know, overprotective, good in a crisis, strong sense of right and wrong, all that Hollywood crap. Pogue was his right-hand-man, but by no means a nothing sidekick. He was intense, an all-or-nothing kind of guy. Reid was Reid, less arrogant amongst his friends, but still unwilling to back down when he disagreed with Caleb. He was certainly not one for authority, and quite happy with the bad-boy/ladies-man thing he had going on. But I felt myself strangely drawn to Tyler. He was shy at first; let the others do the talking. He obviously looked up to Reid, sometimes trying to imitate the bad boy attitude. He was the baby of the group, the only one yet to reach his 18th birthday and ascension, when he would gain his full powers. The others called him on it, dubbing him baby boy. He winced every time they said it, but he had the cutest smile when someone said something funny.

Hang on, what? Cute smile? I shook my head to clear it, and refocused on the conversation.

* * *

Things changed for Dan and me after that. Suddenly we were friends of the Sons. Suddenly the whole school knew our names and smiled at us in the corridors. My roommate started quizzing me about Dan's interests. Seemed that when he hung out with the Sons, girls started noticing how hot he was. He is hot, unfortunately. I'm his sister and even I realise. Tall, athletic body, impossibly piercing grey eyes. He was the basketball champion at our old school, though I usually kicked his ass when we played one-on-one. Girls wanted him and boys wanted to be him, lucky bastard. I had the same eyes, but do you think guys wanted me? Did girls want to be me? Nope. I was just Dan's sister, captain of the girls' basketball team instead of the cheer squad. Nice body, but way too tough to mess with.

I met Sarah and Kate properly too. They both seemed pretty fun, and nowhere near as snobby as the rest of the girls. After classes on Friday the following week, the Sons went off to swim training, inviting Dan to 'come get his ass kicked'. They were all confident of their places on the team, though I'd heard earlier in the year that Caleb had almost lost his place to Chase. Unsurprisingly, Dan went with him. The boy loves impossible challenges.

So Sarah, Kate and I ended up in their dorm room chatting. It was fun, something I'd really missed about New York. No matter how much she pretends she doesn't care, every girl needs her friends. They both knew about the Sons' powers. Sarah had worked it out for herself, halfway through the whole Chase debacle, and Pogue had told Kate as she was recovering from the spider bites. It was so incredibly cool to have someone to talk to about the Power. Mom and Dad were, well, Mom and Dad, Dan pretty much knew everything about me, and I'd never told anyone in New York.

"Hey, we're all going to Nicky's tonight. I'm sure the boys will be inviting Dan, so you should grab something to change into." Kate told me.

"What about the whole 'staying on campus' thing?" I asked.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" she retorted. "The staff don't mind that much on the weekend. Plus Pogue and Caleb live off campus, so we always just pretend we're visiting one of them."

"Ok, cool. Meet you back here in like, half an hour?"

When I arrived back, the Sons and Dan were lounging around the room already. They all still had wet hair and Dan's eyes were sparkling. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know, swimming's not as pathetic as I thought," he told me.

Pogue punched him in the shoulder, "You're not half bad kid."

Dan punched him back. It amazes me how guys bond. All it takes is competition and violence.

"Come on, let's go," Reid called from the doorway. He had on the hat and fingerless gloves that I'd noticed were a trademark of his. The boys were all dressed similarly, in jeans, t-shirts and jackets. Sarah pulled a coat on over her blue dress. It was the middle of winter after all. I looked down at my own jeans and sleeveless v-neck top.

"Lend me a jacket?" I asked the girls. Kate slung a leather jacket at me and we all headed out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing

I'm not sure when the other sons' birthdays are, so i've kind of guessed for Tyler. Also, if anyone wants to volunteer to americanise my story, I wouldn't say no. I'm sure there's a whole lot of aussie slang in here that I haven't even noticed.

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**Chapter 4**

Nicky's was packed. It seemed like most of the Spenser population had found excuses to be off campus. Reid and Tyler made a beeline for the pool table, where I saw Aaron Abbot (who really _was_ an asshole) waiting. Sarah and Kate dragged me to a table while the boys went to the bar to get food and drinks.

"Nicky doesn't ask them for ID," Kate explained, "which is a perfect excuse to make them buy." I smiled. Behind her I could see Reid and Tyler at the pool table. Tyler looked cockier than he ever did at school, moving around the table as they each took their shots. By the looks of it, they were winning. Sarah saw me watching them.

"They quite regularly win lots of money off Aaron," she told me. "I'm not sure why he still plays. You like Reid?"

"What? No," I replied quickly. She smiled.

"All the girls seem to fall for the bad boy thing." Kate commented.

"Not me," I informed them. "I've had enough of bad boys. And I think Dan's had enough of trying to make them stay away." That's the problem with a tough vibe – the only people it doesn't keep away are the ones you _really_ don't want.

"He's pretty protective of you then?" Kate asked.

"Mmm, I guess. He doesn't really need to be, cos I can look after myself. But he's my brother, you know?"

"Well, it looks like you've just inherited four new brothers," Sarah laughed. "They'll be making you honorary Sons next, what with the Power and all."

"Somehow I don't think Sons and Daughter has quite the same ring to it though," I countered.

"True," she laughed as Dan, Caleb and Pogue came to sit with us. They held baskets of burgers and fries, and at least 2 glasses of beer each.

"Hope you're going to share those," I nudged Dan.

"I'm not sure that I should be giving beer to my little sister," he replied.

"Technically, I could be older than you." No one remembered whether Dan or I had been born first. "Plus, I'm 18. That makes me legal in most countries." I grabbed a glass before he could stop me. He rolled his eyes.

As we started to eat I noticed over Kate's shoulder that Tyler and Reid had finished their game. They were staring at one of the girls dancing in front of the jukebox. Reid said something and squinted. I couldn't see his eyes, but I felt someone use. The girl they were staring at squealed as her very short skirt lifted to reveal a lacy pink thong. Caleb's eyes narrowed. Pogue smirked. Tyler grinned massively as Reid handed him something. I shook my head and looked at Dan, who was looking at Caleb. Freakin' lot of looking going on really.

Reid and Tyler walked over to us. Tyler was still smiling.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" asked Dan.

"Yes," Caleb replied shortly, glaring at Reid.

"Come on. It's just a bit of fun," Reid glared back at Caleb.

"There's nothing fun about addiction." Reid just rolled his eyes.

"It's his life," Pogue said, trying to break the tension.

"Yeah," Reid agreed. "It is. And I'm not addicted. Come on Tyler."

But Tyler had just taken one of the spare beers from our table. Reid rolled his eyes again and stormed off to the bar.

We enjoyed the fries in silence for a couple of minutes. Tyler had taken the empty seat next to me, and was helping himself to my basket. I'd slapped his hand away a couple of times, but after it became apparent that he was trying the bad boy thing, I sighed and pushed the basket closer to him.

"Hi Summer!" came a whiny voice from over my shoulder. I winced and turned around. It was my roommate.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" She asked. Apparently since I'd become more popular than her, she'd decided that I would be a good way in to the infamous Sons of Ipswich gang.

"Everyone, this is my roommate Gemma." I got it over with in the minimum number of words and turned back to my fries in time to see Tyler take the last two. I glared at him.

There was a faint chorus of greetings from my friends at the table, but no one stood to give her room. This didn't faze Gemma. She grabbed a chair from the table next to us and pushed it between Sarah and Caleb. Honestly. Sarah frowned slightly, then looked at me.

"You want to dance?" she asked.

"Sure." We stood up, closely followed by Kate, Caleb and Pogue. I cocked at eyebrow at Tyler.

"Coming?" he stood and we tugged the three boys to the dance floor. This left Dan alone at the table with Gemma, which had not been my intention. I flashed a sorry face at him and he glared back. He said something to Gemma before leaving the table to sit with Reid at the bar.

Ouch. I hadn't meant for it all to be so harsh, but hopefully Gemma would get the message.

"Woohoo!" Sarah called from the jukebox. The first chords of 'I Love Rock and Roll' made me laugh. I love jukebox classics. Tyler sniggered.

"What?" I asked him.

"Sarah and Caleb's first dance. She plays it every time we come here."

"Well I happen to love rock and roll," I replied. "You gonna dance with me?" His eyes widened a little. I don't think he'd ever expected to get results from copying Reid's act. But he recovered as I grabbed his arm and got into the music.

"Go baby boy," Pogue laughed from behind me.

Soon enough Reid and Dan joined us. Reid muscled in on a couple of girls dancing, who didn't seem to mind. The curvy blonde one moved closer to him, while her friend turned to find Dan without a partner. She smiled and took his hand.

When 'We Will Rock You' came on, I decided it was time for a break. Actually everyone did. The boys got more drinks from the bar for everyone. It was too loud to talk really. Seemed the whole place was getting into the stamp-stamp-clap rhythm. I swear the walls were shaking. The table where our drinks were sitting certainly was. I was talking, well shouting, in Tyler's ear when I noticed Reid's drink shake right off the table. I felt him use as he caught it in midair, before sliding his hand around it as if nothing had happened. The boys and I all looked at him. He rolled his black eyes.

But the girl he was with was looking now too. He looked away and let his eyes fade back to blue, but I swear she saw. Her eyes narrowed and she got this weird look on her face. You'd expect confusion, disbelief maybe, but it wasn't that. She knew what she'd seen, but it didn't freak her out.

Odd.

The stamp-stamp-clap ended as a quieter song began. Everyone turned back to their respective partners. I guess we all realised there wasn't much we could do about Reid's little… habit.

"So baby boy," I said. Tyler flinched. "When's your birthday?"

"Actually, next week," he told me. "Maybe they'll stop calling me baby then." I laughed. He seemed really hopeful, but I doubted he'd ever be anything but the baby.

"I mean it. Nobody takes me seriously. Sometimes I feel like I'm just here to make up the numbers. Reid's a good friend, but even he forgets I'm a real person. Like with actual feelings." I smiled ruefully at him, but then smirked.

"You'll just have to come out of your shell a bit then," I decided. "Do your own thing. Don't act tough because Reid does. Act to get what you want." I paused. "I'll help."

He stood there, looking at me. Thinking.

"Ok," I continued after a moment. "What do you want now?"

Tyler paused.

"No," I scolded. "Don't think about it. Just tell me what you want."

"Another drink."

"Great, let's go get you one. And me one, while we're at it."

Nicky stared at us for a second when we reached the bar. Clearly we weren't 21. Hell, Tyler wasn't even 18. But the barman decided that if he let Caleb and the others have drinks, he could hardly refuse Tyler.

"Two beers," Tyler said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing

Wouldn't mind a few more reviews... hint hint. Might help me write more...

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"So, what do you do for fun," I asked him as we sat with our glasses. "I mean, when you're not being pushed around by the others."

"They don't push me around," he protested.

"Not any more they won't."

"Yeah," he paused. "Well, I honestly like swimming. Driving I guess. And pool. I don't just do things because the others are."

"Ok then. How about some pool?" I collected my glass and moved across to the tables. Two rather greasy looking guys were just finishing a game. Tyler came up behind me, knocking back the last of his beer.

"Do you play?" he asked me. As I'd decided this night was for him, I lied.

"Not really. But you can teach me?"

He smiled his cute smile and began setting up the balls. Downing the rest of my beer, I realised I was flirting. Why? I told myself it was because Tyler needed a confidence boost. He wanted to stop being the baby. But then wasn't it a bit wrong, leading him on? No, I decided. Just a bit of harmless flirting. Let the boy know he was worthy, or something. It's not like he'd fall for me.

Tyler had finished setting up the table. He handed me a cue.

"So I'll break this time," he told me. He was a good shot too. Sunk a ball on the break, though I realised that could have been a fluke. After he'd taken his second shot he came around to my side of the table.

"You're yellow," he told me. Duh! "So you've got to hit a yellow ball first with the white ball. And try not to sink any of the red balls, because you'd just be doing me a big favour." I levelled my pool cue deliberately wrongly.

"No, not like that. You have to…" he trailed off, unable to explain.

"Why don't you show me?" I asked. Flirting!! But I couldn't help myself. He moved behind me, trying to angle the cue correctly without touching me.

"I don't bite," I told him. "And I need help." This was truly shameless. The old show-me-how-to-hold-my-cue move. He fell for it. Moved in closer until I could feel his breath on my cheek.

"Like this," he murmured in my ear. Yes, that's right. Baby Tyler was murmuring in my ear. And for some reason, it made shivers run up my spine. I held the cue like he told me, moving it slightly as I played my shot so that the yellow ball he'd lined me up with missed the corner pocket.

"Too bad. That was a pretty good shot for a first timer though." He was being totally sweet. Most guys would have smirked. He took another shot, sunk another ball. He _was_ good! I watched closely as he took the follow up shot. He missed very deliberately. What a gentlemen.

"Your turn."

I remembered the deep v of the top I was wearing and leaned over the table a little for my turn. I'd lined up a brilliant off the cushion shot that would look like a total fluke when Dan showed up. I glared at him, but he'd already figured out my little ruse.

"You're teaching my sister to play pool" he asked Tyler innocently. Sometimes I love my brother. Tyler nodded as Dan handed him a drink.

"Watch out man, she's really lucky." Dan winked at me and passed me my own glass. "You play nice," he muttered at me, and returned to the table with the others. I glanced over and saw Sarah and Reid watching me. I smiled at Sarah, glared at Reid and turned back to our game, accidentally knocking one of the balls on the table with my cue.

"Oops," I said.

"That's ok. You can put it back and have another go."

Too nice, I thought.

I then realised the problem with my scheme. My competitive streak matches Dan's. I don't like to lose. Looked like we were in for a night of fluky looking shots. I'd be proving my brother right, but it couldn't be helped. I lined up the balls again and managed to sink two in one shot. Now that was a fluke.

Tyler looked up at me with a smirk.

"You are lucky. Guess I should stop playing nice."

I smirked back. "Bet you my luck is better than your skill," I dared him.

"What are we betting?"

"Hmm. Loser pays for a movie?" Huh? What? Where had that come from? Not my mouth surely.

"You're on."

Shit.

But, seeing as I don't like to lose, and I didn't want to pay for the movie, I won. Tyler looked a bit suspicious by the end of it. By the time I reached the black ball, he sure wasn't holding back.

"Wow!" I faked surprise. "I've never won before." God, I sounded like a cheerleader. Spew. Must be the beer, I decided. Just roll with it. He racked the cues and we walked back to the rest of our friends.

It's funny that I thought of them as friends so quickly. A week or so before, I hadn't known them at all. And they certainly hadn't known my name or Dan's.

Apart from Dan, each of the boys had a girl in his lap. Sarah with Caleb and Kate with Pogue of course, and the curvy blonde in the red dress was looking mighty comfortable in Reid's lap. Dan looked a bit awkward surrounded by all the couples. The girl he'd been dancing with had obviously disappeared.

"It's getting pretty late," Caleb commented as we were about to sit. "I think we're going to head."

"Yeah, there's the meet tomorrow," Pogue confirmed. "We should all go."

The girls slid of their laps as they stood. Reid remained in his seat engrossed with the blonde.

Dan stood and we turned to leave.

"You coming Reid" Tyler asked.

Reid looked up. "Nah, you go. I'm going to stay here for a bit. I'll get back to the dorms myself."

Tyler shrugged and we followed the others out.

The trip back to Spenser was uneventful. I could certainly feel the beers. It always happened when Dan and I went out drinking together. Somehow we copped the effects of each other's drinks, as well as our own. We'd realised a few years ago, and had set up a kind of informal checking system, so that we didn't end up drinking at the same place on the same night. The effects lessened with distance.

In Reid's absence, I sat in the front with Tyler. When I turned to look at Dan he smirked at me. We hadn't been drinking together in so long that I'd forgotten one of the other problems we'd found.

Twins are generally close. Sharing the Power with Dan only made us closer. Generally we keep up a bit of a barrier, so that we share feelings, but not actual thoughts. That barrier tended to fail when alcohol got involved. I faced forward again, and tried to concentrate on not thinking. It was like trying not to think about a pink elephant. With his freakin' pink trunk, and his big pink ears, and his sweet smile, and his cute nose… _Damn_!

Dan sniggered behind me. It was going to be a long ride.


	6. Chapter 6

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing. I also don't really like this chapter, but oh well.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

The next day was the swim meet in Gloucester. The Sons travelled on the team bus, so Dan and I offered Sarah and Kate a lift. I still wasn't sure why I was going. Lack of anything else to do, I suppose. Tyler had invited me during the ride home the previous night, sparking all sorts of thoughts that got Dan smirking. I almost didn't go just because of that, but then Sarah and Kate asked us to keep them company, so I agreed.

I'm not such a big fan of swimming pools. They're always hot and humid and smell ridiculously strongly of chlorine. But the four of us sat on the sweaty tiered benches for most of the day. I'm ashamed to admit that I cheered pretty loudly for the guys. Like I was turning into some sort of cheerleader. But Sarah and Kate were yelling just as loudly next to me, so it was hard not to get into the spirit of things.

Interestingly, the blonde girl who'd been entangled with Reid turned up in the afternoon. We waved at her, but she didn't even smile back. Snob.

"Caleb said Reid wasn't on the bus this morning," Sarah told me.

"He's here now though," Dan said. I looked down to the blocks and saw Reid's lithe body preparing for the long distance race. He had a couple of tattoos on his arm, but I couldn't tell what they were of from that distance. Pogue joined us just as Reid dived in the water.

"Well, I'm finished," he told us. "Caleb's just showering, and this is Reid's last race. There's just Tyler's backstroke final to come." He settled himself on the bench behind Kate so that she was sitting between his legs and he could wrap his arms around her waist. She snuggled back into him. Made me a bit jealous actually. I've had my fair share of guys, but never anything serious or long term like they had. I know they'd fought a bit, but not in a relationship ending kind of way.

I focussed back on the pool. It looked like it was the last lap, because everyone was cheering really loudly. I figured out which one was Reid by the color of his cap and was surprised to see that he wasn't in the lead.

"I thought you guys always won?" I asked Pogue.

"We do. Don't know what's up with Reid."

The swimmers made their last turn with Reid a couple of body lengths behind the leader. I felt someone use and saw Pogue and Dan stiffen beside me. Kate and Sarah noticed them too.

"That idiot," Pogue muttered. We watched as the lead swimmer faltered. Instead of coming up smoothly for a breath, he almost stopped, losing his rhythm as he coughed up a whole lot of pool water. In contrast, Reid powered on, quickly passing the leader. None of the other competitors could match Reid's apparent burst of energy. He won by a good body length. None of us cheered. Pogue stood up quickly to head back to his team mates.

"Wait here," he told us.

We watched as Reid hauled himself out of the pool, grinning. Caleb emerged from the showers (fully clothed, don't worry) and reached Reid at the same time as Pogue. A heated argument followed, not that we could hear any of it. When other swimmers started to look strangely at the Spenser threesome, Caleb dragged Reid off and through a door marked 'Management Only'.

The announcer called the 200m backstroke final – the last race of the day. Tyler was standing behind the blocks, though I hadn't noticed him arrive. He looked nervous, but kind of hot in his tiny swim shorts. Definitely an athlete's body - not as ripped as Pogue, but nicely muscled nonetheless.

Hey, I'm allowed to check guys out.

He jumped into the water for the start of the race. The others were still looking toward the 'management only' door, and I noticed Tyler glance that way a couple of times too.

Just as the buzzer went for the start of the race, I felt someone use. Dan stiffened beside me and Tyler missed his start by a fraction of a second. I managed to grab Dan's arm before he stood up.

"It's their business Dan," I whispered at him, "I'm sure Caleb can handle it."

By the end of the first lap Tyler had caught the other swimmers. As he took his first stroke after the turn I could tell he was drawing ahead. Reid came storming out of the door black eyed, closely followed by Caleb and Pogue. Caleb's eyes were black too. He must have been scarily angry to take such a risk. Pogue had to physically restrain Caleb as Reid disappeared into the locker room. I could feel a lot of anger in the Power. That might sound a bit strange, but it was the same as when you can almost see anger radiating from a person.

I'd totally forgotten Tyler. He was half way through his third lap, gradually gaining on his opposition. It must have been so hard for him to concentrate. Even if he couldn't see Pogue and Caleb arguing, he would have been able to feel all the using that was happening.

When I looked back to Caleb, his eyes were back to their normal dark color. Luckily, if you didn't know what you were looking for, Caleb's eyes were pretty dark anyway. I hoped people would figure it was a lighting thing.

I suddenly thought of the blonde girl from Nicky's. The people behind her were looking a bit pissed, because she was standing in her seat, eyes flicking between Caleb and the locker room. As I watched, she moved off quickly, down the now mostly empty tiers, hunting through her bag as she went.

Somewhere amidst the madness, Tyler won his race.

The four of us in the tiers stood at the same time. Normally it would have been a laughably clichéd move, but no one even cracked a smile. We hurried down to Caleb and Pogue, collecting a dripping Tyler along the way.

Caleb was furious.

"He's insane!" he hissed. Pogue had obviously given up trying to calm him, and he stood there helplessly.

"What happened?" Sarah asked, taking Caleb's hand. He didn't seem to notice.

"Insane!" he said again.

"Maybe… maybe we should get our stuff. The bus is leaving soon," Pogue tried. Tyler, still dripping wet, nodded. He and Pogue guided a still fuming Caleb towards the locker room.

"Wait, isn't Reid still in there?" I hissed.

"Hopefully there's a back way out," Kate replied. We waited. I think we were all expecting the onset of fire and explosions, but it didn't come. Sarah and Kate were watching Dan and I closely, to see if someone used. But no one did. After a couple of minutes I saw Kate's shoulders slump with relief. There really must have been a back way out.

The boys emerged soon after. Caleb looked a littler calmer, but by no means happy.

"Let's just get back to Spenser," he said.

"Shouldn't we look for him or something?" Dan asked.

"He's a big boy," Caleb replied. "He managed to get here by himself. Plus, as everyone keeps reminding me, it's his life."

* * *

I caught up with Tyler the next day in the cafeteria. As I slid in next to him I noticed that no one else from the previous day's little episode was around. I figured Dan was still asleep – he's always maintained that Sunday should be a day of rest.

"So where is everybody?" I asked through a mouthful of toast.

"Sarah stayed with Caleb last night," he informed me. "And Kate was with Pogue. Reid hasn't been back to the dorms yet."

"Uh." I didn't really know what to say. I knew that Tyler and Reid were best friends, even if Reid did push him around.

"I know he'll be fine, but I wish we'd found him yesterday," Tyler continued virtually unprompted. "Caleb and Reid is getting worse. I know it sounds stupid, but there's really no one to look out for Reid."

"He will be fine though," I tried to reassure Tyler. "And you always look out for him. Did you talk to him at all yesterday?" I don't really know why I asked; I should probably have been changing the subject.

"Yeah, during the day, waiting for our races."

"And…"

"He seemed ok. Maybe tired. Not all that talkative. But that's Reid."

"Hmm." Another question occurred to me. "Did he mention what he'd been up to? Whether he'd been with that blonde chick?"

"No. He usually brags about his girls too. But like I said, he didn't really say anything much."

"She was there yesterday, did you see her?"

"Yeah. Reid kept looking at her in the stands."

"So they probably did spend the night together."

"Probably."

The whole conversation was starting to get me down, not to mention weird me out. It _was_ time for a subject change.

"You swam really well though!" I sat up straighter and smiled at him. "Do you like the beach in summer?"

"Yeah. I guess."

Hmm. Try again. "Have you ever been to Hawaii? Dan and I went with our parents a couple of years ago. It's like a whole beach state!"

"Uh huh."

To tell you the truth, I was getting a bit desperate.

"So, when are you going to pay for my movie?" he looked up at me. "Remember? I beat you at pool?"

He narrowed his eyes a little. "How could I forget?" he asked.

Well, at least it was a response.

"So how about Friday?"

Suddenly he smirked at me. "We'll play another game of pool before. Winner picks the movie."

"Sure," I intended to play innocent for as long as possible.

"And this time, miss 'lucky', I won't play nice." He cocked and eyebrow at me as he rose from the table. I stood to join him, smiling sweetly back.

"You're on."


	7. Chapter 7

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing

thanks worstwitch for the review :) (i used to watch that show!)

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Reid was back in classes on Monday, though he didn't look so great. During English, I sent a questioning look at Tyler, who shrugged in response. 

"Did anyone say anything to you about Reid?" I asked Dan.

"No. You're the one who's all cosy with his best friend though," he whispered back.

"I am not!"

Dan smirked at me.

"I'm not!" I repeated.

"Summer, you were flirting like mad at Nicky's last week. I can tell, remember? You even almost lost a pool game for him. Wouldn't be surprised if you're going on a date next."

Date? No way. And the movies? Definitely not a date. A not-date.

"It's not like that." I decided out loud. "The boy just needs a confidence boost."

"Oh, so you're leading him on then?"

"No. I'm … I'm just having fun!"

"A question, Miss Jones?"

Oops.

"No sir!"

I glared at Dan, and refocussed on the teacher.

* * *

On Thursday afternoon I was sitting in the library with Dan, Caleb and Sarah. Dan was reading a book Sarah had found for him about the history of Ipswich. Sarah was explaining something sciencey to Caleb in a whisper, and I was trying to concentrate on The Shining.

I jumped a bit when Tyler dumped his books next to me. I'd barely seen him all week. The others looked up, along with most of the rest of the library. It was a quiet place. He glanced around, but then slumped into the seat next to me.

"Where have you been, baby boy?" Caleb whispered.

"With Reid." Tyler replied shortly.

Everyone returned to their respective studying, until…

"Big day tomorrow then?" Caleb asked, still looking at Tyler.

I straightened, but pretended to be reading, waiting for Tyler's response. Should have figured that Tyler would tell the other Sons about our movie not-date.

"Yeah." Not the involved response I was hoping for.

"What time?"

"Early morning."

What?

I stopped pretending to read.

"What?" I asked, forgetting to whisper. The girl at the next table glared at me.

"What?" I whispered again.

"He's ascending tomorrow." Caleb informed me.

"You are? I mean, tomorrow's your birthday? Why didn't you say?"

"I told you it was this week."

"Yeah, but not that it's tomorrow. You can't pay for a movie on your birthday."

"Movie?" Caleb asked.

"Anyway, shouldn't you be having a party or something?" I continued.

"Movie?" Caleb hissed a little louder.

Sarah gave up trying to read their science textbook and shook her head. "Yes Caleb, Tyler and Summer are going to a movie."

Dan cocked and eyebrow. "I'll have to meet this young man, Summer," he told me sternly. "And I expect you home before midnight."

I punched him.

"Why not? And no." Tyler had somehow kept track of our conversation.

"Because it's your birthday. Your 18th birthday. What about family stuff?" I felt really bad, making him take me on a not-date on his birthday.

"I'm staying at my parents' tonight. They're taking me out for a fancy dinner, the works. They're expecting me to be out with the boys on Friday."

"Which you should be! They're your friends!" I hissed.

"We should ah… go ask the professor about this science problem," Sarah cut in. She stood and pulled Caleb to his feet and they left, Dan trailing along behind.

Subtle.

"You're my friend too," Tyler whispered. "And Reid isn't really around. I'd prefer just to go to the movies with you."

It was flattering that he wanted to spend his birthday with me. And something more. His soft words made my chest feel kind of tight, like I'd just run a million miles. I resisted the urge to reach out and touch his hand.

"Well, ok," I said finally. "If you're sure you want to. I'll pay though. As a present."

"Ok." Then he smiled, "Do I get to pick the movie?"

"Well, surely you'll win the pool game anyway?" I smiled innocently back.

"With your 'luck'?"

I just smiled.

"Fine. It's not like any movie could beat my morning. Maybe I'll have some birthday luck."

"Oh yeah, you're ascending huh? You'll have to tell me all about it afterwards." Luckily we were still whispering. This was certainly not a conversation to be overheard.

"Haven't you already ascended?" he asked.

"Me and Dan, we don't really 'ascend'," I explained quietly. "We've just been slowly getting more power since we were about 15. It'll stop getting stronger some time, but there's no definite moments like with you guys."

"So your power is different," he realised. "Does it still affect you? You know, age you?"

"Yeah, I think. Dad didn't really use much, nor did my grandmother, who he inherited from. But Dan and I are kind of freaks anyway – there's no other record of twins both inheriting."

"Hmm. So you don't know which rules apply to you?"

"Nope. We're just figuring that most rules apply."

"Do you ever link power?"

"Like how?"

"Well, me and the others, we can do more if we work together. And I thought, maybe because you and Dan are twins, you could work together even better."

I rested my chin on my hand, thinking.

"We've tried doing the same thing at the same time. Like both lifting the same book. But we've never really tried linking together. I'm not sure how it would work. Dad was never into using though. He taught us it was basically for emergencies only."

Like when you're in an avalanche in the Andes, I added silently.

"That's what Dad told me too. He's the only one of our four dads who looks his age."

"Wise words then."

"Yeah."

We lapsed into silence. I hated that Mom and Dad were gone. I think I was really angry that Dad had the power and still couldn't save them from the avalanche. It seemed selfish that he and Mom had just abandoned Dan and me. Most of my brain knew that it was a stupid thing to be angry about, but there's always that part of you, you know? It should have been Dad doing the mandatory potential boyfriend threatening instead of Dan. Not that Tyler was a potential boyfriend. He was just a good friend.

Who was taking me on a not-date.

Who made my chest tighten occasionally.

Tyler broke the reverie.

"I'm sorry Summer, but I have to go. Dad's picking me up soon."

"Oh, sure," I replied, shaking my head slightly to clear it.

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." He stood to collect his books and his arm brushed against my shoulder.

Before he turned to leave I smiled up at him, "Looking forward to it."


	8. Chapter 8

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing.

This whole story is getting incredibly dialogue-heavy. Opinions? I'm struggling with the next chapter, so some patience may be required.

Also, thanks heaps for the reviews. It's great to know that people are reading and enjoying my story.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"What am I going to wear?" Every girl's nightmare.

Friday afternoon found me buried in my cupboard while Sarah and Kate offered moral support from my bed. Luckily Gemma was off somewhere trying to be popular.

"I thought you said this wasn't a date?" Sarah asked.

"So? I still have to wear something!"

"If it's not a date, why do you care?" Kate joined in.

Good point really. Why did I care?

"Because I just do! Besides, it's Tyler's birthday. How bad would it look if I turned up in dirty old jeans?"

Sarah giggled. "I'm sure he won't mind what you're wearing."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sure he'd be perfectly happy if you turned up in absolutely nothing," Kate told me.

I turned from my wardrobe to look at them. Kate was biting her lip to keep from laughing, and Sarah's eyes were full of amusement. "What?"

"Come on Summer. You totally care. You want to look good for Tyler!"

"And I'm sure he wants to look good for you!"

I swear, the pair of them.

"I do not!" I protested. "I'm going out in public, ergo I want to look good. No Tyler."

Kate turned to Sarah, pretending to ignore me. "Do you want to know a secret?" she asked her blonde friend.

"Ooooh, yeah!" Sarah replied.

"Summer has a big old crush."

"She does not!" I interrupted.

"Summer has a big old crush on Tyler!" Kate continued victoriously.

"That's not a secret," Sarah told her.

"What?" I almost yelled. They were being extremely frustrating.

"Everyone knows," Sarah explained to Kate, mockingly serious. "Except Summer and Tyler that is."

"I don't!"

They continued to ignore me.

"She is of course in denial," Sarah crossed her legs, a grin creeping on to her face.

Kate grabbed my reading glasses from my desk and perched them low on her nose. "Of course," she agreed with a straight face. "A classic case. The first stage of a crush."

"How long will it continue, professor?" Sarah asked Kate.

"Oh, not long I suspect. There's only so long you can deny these sorts of feelings. You will have noticed that her body language betrays her."

"How miss?" Sarah queried through her giggles.

"Well, my young student, observe how she smiles almost constantly in his presence. You may also observe the classic casual skin-brush, the rapt attention when he speaks, perhaps even…"

"That's enough," I cut in. "I'm not like that."

My two friends could no longer contain their laughter.

"Yes… you… are," Sarah managed to stammer out.

"Oh Summer, come on. Denial is boring," Kate said when she and Sarah had recovered. "You totally like him, and he totally likes you."

"He does?" I asked.

"Yes. Now let's find you something amazing to wear tonight."

As we sorted through an incredibly tangled pile of my clothes, I thought about what they'd said. Was my flirting that obvious? And what if Tyler did like me? Did that mean I was leading him on, like Dan said? Because I didn't like him like Kate said. He just made me laugh, and my chest tighten sometimes. But I remembered what I'd felt when his arm brushed me in the library, and the shivers that ran up my spine when he lent over me during our pool game. They weren't things you felt for a guy you were 'just friends' with.

* * *

We finally settled on dark jeans and a flatteringly skin tight sleeveless black top. I am endlessly annoyed at the lack of 'going out' tops with sleeves. A girl is obviously just supposed to freeze. I found my own black leather jacket and borrow a pair of quite sexy heels from Sarah. Kate straightened my hair to within and inch of its life, doused my eyelashes with mascara and I was ready.

On my way to Tyler's dorm, I stopped in to see Dan.

"Hey little brother," I called from his doorway.

He looked up from the book he was reading, stretched out on his bed.

"Hey yourself, little sis."

"I'm heading off, just thought I'd say hi."

"Oh yes, your big date!"

"Ha ha. At least I'm not sitting around reading on a Friday night."

"For your information, I too have a date."

This was news to me. I clicked into his room (freakin' heels. Why does fashion have to be so damned uncomfortable?) and sat on his toes at the end of his bed.

"Oh?" I enquired. "Who's the lucky girl?"

He pulled his feet from under me and flipped over so that he was sitting on his butt.

"Actually, I don't know. Reid's setting me up with a friend of that blonde chick."

I frowned slightly.

"Don't you think she's a bit strange?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know when we were at Nicky's last week, when we were all sitting around the table?"

Dan nodded.

"Reid's glass got shaken off the table by the music, and he caught it with his power. I swear the girl saw. Like, his eyes and everything. But she didn't say anything."

"She probably figured it was the light, Summer. You're just being paranoid."

"Maybe. But she was at the pool the next day, watching when Caleb got really angry and, you know, used. And don't you think Reid's been acting weird since he got with her?"

Dan laughed. "You sound like you're jealous."

"I'm not, I swear. Just kind of worried."

"Well alright Mom, I'll be careful." He squeezed my hand in his brotherly Dan way. "You be careful too ok. If he tries anything, you tell me and I'll beat him up for you."

"Ha ha. I can look after myself perfectly well." I pretended to punch him but he caught me in a big bear hug instead. I do love my brother, though these days his bear hugs actually hurt.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" I asked as I stood up to leave.

"Yup," he agreed. "And seriously, have a good night."

"You too Dan. Love you."

"You too. Now go!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing.

Cough review cough

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"Best of three?" I asked hopefully. Somehow, I'd just lost our pool game.

Tyler chuckled. "Running out of luck are we?"

We were standing close to each other to be heard over the jukebox and general roar of conversation in Nicky's on a Friday night.

"Please?" I grabbed his arm impulsively. He'd taken off his jacket in the smoky room and the touch of his skin was almost electric. I honestly didn't want to let go.

Crazy.

Or maybe not so crazy, if you asked Kate or Sarah.

"Nope," Tyler told me. "I know what I want to see. And we'll miss it if we play again."

"You've looked up the times?" I asked. "That's pretty cocky. I could have won!"

"No way. Birthday luck. Children of Men starts at 8."

"Fine!" I sniffed and turned my back, pretending to be pissed off. It meant that I had to let go of Tyler's arm, which sucked, but a second later he grabbed my hand to spin me back around. It sent shivers up my spine.

"It'll be fun Summer," he told me, squeezing my hand a bit.

More shivers. I could hardly believe that holding hands was making me feel like that. Imagine what kissing would be like.

No, wait. Not-date, remember?

I didn't let go of his hand though.

Instead I smiled, to make sure he knew I wasn't really annoyed.

"Children of Men it is," I agreed. My stomach growled, loud enough that Tyler smirked a little. "Can we get food on the way?"

"Sure, but…"

"Well well, what have we here?" I totally hadn't noticed Reid arrive, but there he was, leaning on the pool table, head tilted, smirking away. Tyler's hand tightened around mine slightly.

"Hey Reid," he said.

I noticed the curvy blonde standing behind him, fiddling with an intricate silver pendant. _The double date_, I remembered. I scanned the bar, but couldn't see Dan anywhere.

"What's up Sum?" Reid asked me. I hate it when people call me Sum. Makes me sound like some kind of math equation.

"Actually, we were just leaving," I replied cheerily.

"Tired of your date already?" Reid sneered.

"No," Tyler and I reacted instantly.

Reid just laughed. As much as I hated letting go of Tyler's reassuring grip, it was time for action.

I grabbed my jacket from the bar stool and passed Tyler his.

"Let's just go," I told him.

* * *

I decided that I liked Tyler's car. Yes, it was a big, gas-guzzling tank, but it was comfy, and pretty cool to ride it. Bit of a statement too. Plus, he was obviously in love with it.

"I'm sorry about Reid," Tyler said, eyes on the road.

"Hey, you don't have to apologise, it's not your fault," I advised him.

"Yeah, but he's my friend. And he was being a dick."

"It's ok. I don't judge people by their friends."

There was silence for a moment, and I resolved to change the subject again.

"I do judge them by their food choices though. What are we getting?"

"Well, there's not that much time before the movie, so I figured takeaway?"

"That's a classy birthday dinner, that is," I laughed.

"Yeah, well classy gets a bit boring when you've been to as many family dinners as I have. We never had takeaway when I was a kid. It was a huge treat going to Pogue's and eating fries."

"Ah, health freak parents, I know what you mean."

"What's your favourite food then?" he asked me.

"Easy. Bagels."

Tyler laughed, "A true New Yorker."

"Uh huh. There was this little bakery a couple of blocks over from my old school. The best day of my life was the first day of junior year, when we were finally allowed off campus for lunch."

"Wow. So you're easy to please."

"Just give me bagels. What about you?"

"Well," he confessed, "the best food in the world is pancakes with cheese and corn."

"Eww! Tyler, that's disgusting!"

"Yup," he laughed. "That's what my Mum said when she caught me making them in the fifth grade."

"Seriously? Cheese and corn on pancakes? What the hell made you think of that?"

"It was actually a dare. And I liked so much Reid added crushed coffee biscuits halfway through."

I laughed. What else can you do when someone comes out with ridiculous food combinations?

"Gross," I decided at last. He turned and grinned at me.

"Hey buddy, eyes on the road. You may be all powerful, but I doubt you have eyes in the side of your head."

Tyler turned back to the road.

"So you never told me," I said. "How was ascending?"

"It hurt. Nowhere near as exciting as Caleb's, but still kind of cool. It feels different, like I could do anything."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Yeah, but I can handle it. I didn't use that much before, so it's not like I'm addicted. Plus I want to live past 40."

"Doesn't mean we can't have fun though, huh?"

* * *

We sat on the bench outside the movie theatre eating the best, messiest burgers I've ever had. After I'd picked the last bit of tomato off my jeans I stood up.

"You're lucky I wasn't wearing white pants mister," I told Tyler. "I would've dumped you before we even made it to the movies."

Tyler stood up too. "Dumped on my first not-date, ouch."

"Huh?"

"Dan told me you've been calling this a not-date all week."

I felt like one of those heat lamps had been turned up on full and aimed at my cheeks.

"He also told me that if I didn't behave he'd have his New York gangster friends custom fit a pair of concrete boots and take me swimming."

Still blushing, I made a mental note to hurt my brother next time I saw him. "He's a real joker," I tried.

Tyler just smiled. "There's no digging out of this one Summer."

"Well," I began again. "It's just that I don't really date. It's easier just to hang out. Boy drama is too soapie."

"Hey, no stress," he seemed to have had enough of watching me squirm. "But you have to promise me something."

"Ok," I agreed slowly.

"That you won't tell Dan I did this," he said quickly, taking my hand. I couldn't help but smile. It felt so good – his cool fingers and my chest tightening. Maybe Kate was right, maybe I was in denial. I twined my fingers between his and followed him inside.

* * *

We did the usual movie dissection afterwards, boring really. When we got back to his car, I decided that it was time for dessert.

"Well there's a really good ice-cream place around the corner from Nicky's," Tyler suggested.

"Feed me ice-cream and I'm yours forever," I joked.

Tyler grinned back at me. There was something in his smile though, that brought on a whole new round of chest tightening and stomach butterflies. The feelings should have been getting old, but for some reason I liked it. They weren't nervous butterflies exactly, more… anticipatory. If that's a word. Anyway, it all felt good.

We parked near Nicky's and walked to the ice-cream parlour hand-in-hand. Normally clichés like that have me in fits of derisive laughter, but this time I just enjoyed the moment. I was feeling really giddy, which I figured was another cliché – drunk on life or some such.

After I gave up protesting about it being his birthday, Tyler paid for his chocolate sundae and my triple-choc/berry/honeycomb monstrosity. He laughed at my inability to choose a single flavour and told me it was cute. I threatened to dump my triple-choc/berry/honeycomb cone on his head. He dodged and suggested we walk to the park. Crazy, eating ice-cream outside in the middle of winter, but I really couldn't feel the cold.

When we got to the park I sat down heavily on a bench. I was really struggling to concentrate on anything. I even managed to miss my mouth and get ice-cream on the tip of my nose. I giggled.

"Hey Summer, are you alright?" Tyler asked.

"I've got ice-cream on my nose!" I told him.

He laughed, "I can see that."

"It's kind of cold."

"Here…" he reached up to wipe it off and somehow suddenly we were kissing. It felt really good. The butterflies in my stomach went into overdrive as I explored his mouth. His hand slid up my neck through my hair and I barely noticed when I dropped the rest of my ice-cream. It seemed like hours later when I pulled away, head spinning.

"I guess I shouldn't tell Dan about that either?" I giggled.

"I you ever want to see me again?" Tyler smiled. "I suggest not."

I shook my head, trying to clear it. For some reason it wouldn't stop spinning.

"Summer?" Tyler was suddenly worried. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, my head's just… I just feel really…drun…"

"Drunk?" Tyler prompted.

"Dan," I muttered.

"What?"

"We're still pretty close to Nicky's right?"

"Yeah, it's just over there." He pointed off somewhere, but I wasn't looking. I was staring at the ground, trying desperately to concentrate.

"Dan and I have this thing," I explained slowly. "If we're at the same party, it's like we drink each other's drinks as well as our own. He must be at Nicky's, and drunk, so I feel like I am too."

"Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Umm, take me home?"

"Sure." He helped me to my feet and gently guided me around the melting remains of my ice-cream.

"It's goddamn Reid," I muttered on the way back to the car.

"Huh?"

"Reid," I told Tyler. "I know it's not your fault. But Dan doesn't drink that much normally."

"And you reckon Reid's got him drunk?" Tyler asked.

"They're out on some stupid double date with that blonde chick and her friend."

"Lately, I wouldn't put it past him," Tyler agreed sadly.

By this time Tyler was pretty much carrying me. I'm not such a big fan of being drunk. I hate not being in control. And at that moment I really couldn't control my legs. My balance was completely shot. So, apparently, was my ability to keep my mouth shut.

"Don't you think there's something wrong with that blonde girl?" I slurred at Tyler. "She turns up and Reid's suddenly Reid times ten. With the anger, and the using. It's her fault. She's all… evil!"

"Uhhuh," Tyler agreed as he helped me into the passenger seat of his car.

He got in the driver's side and we pulled out onto the road.

"This is a nice gas-guzzler," I told him. "It's comfort… com... comfy, and it's got a hot driver with a cute nose, and…" I imagine that by this stage Tyler was struggling not to laugh. I don't really remember what else I said, but I'm sure it was embarrassing.

* * *

**A/N** I've actually tried pancakes with cheese and corn. It was one of those broke-and-there's-nothing-left-to-eat-in-the-house meals. Not a favourite. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing. 'cept Summer, Dan and the mystery girls of course.

Thanks for the reviews everyone. I definitely write faster when I know that there are people waiting to read!

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

My knock on Dan's door the next day was met by groans. Hoping there was no nakedness, I opened the door with my free hand. Dan's roommate was absent and it took me a minute to find my brother – buried under his pillow as he was.

"Big night huh, little brother?" I asked sweetly.

Dan only groaned.

"I know how you feel," I told him.

"No you don't," Dan tried.

I sighed loudly and pulled the pillow off his head.

"Yes, yes I do," I told him again.

Dan turned on me. "No you… oh." He noticed my dark glasses.

"Mmm."

"Had a few with Tyler did we?" his grin was more of a grimace really.

"No actually. All I had was half an ice-cream. You, on the other hand, must have drunk a lot more than a few."

Dan made a grab for his pillow. "So?"

"So, you don't drink this much!"

"Yes Mom. Anyway, it wasn't that much."

"Dan, all I had to do was walk past Nicky's and I felt it. I went all stupid and Tyler will never talk to me again."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. And I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Sorry."

I sighed again and handed him the cup of coffee I'd been holding the whole time. He pulled himself upright and accepted it sheepishly.

Sitting down on the bed next to him I asked, "What on earth possessed you?"

Dan took a sip and exhaled. "I don't know. It just seemed like the thing to do. The others drank just as much as me."

"Peer pressure? That's your excuse?"

"It sounds dumb now," Dan agreed. "But it was kind of fun at the time. There's something wild about those two girls."

"Oh?" I figured he meant Reid's blonde chick and her friend, and I really wanted to know more about them. No one else seemed to share my suspicion, but I was sure that something wasn't right. Dan could be my inside man.

"It was just a great night. Crazy fun." Hung over Dan was more interested in coffee than detail.

"Do they have names? Histories?" I prompted.

"Jess is the blonde, and her friend, my date, is Naomi. They're on winter break from some private college in Texas or somewhere."

"Long way to come for winter break," I commented.

"They said something about visiting family, I don't really remember." He took another long draft of coffee. "Come on Summer, it was just fun. Who says I can't go out and do crazy things sometimes?"

"Well, me, if it's going to ruin my date."

"Date?" Dan looked up sharply. "So you admit it was a date now?"

"Maybe."

"Summer, Summer, Summer," Dan smiled and shook his head slightly. Apparently talking about my ruined life perked him up more than coffee. "You like him, he likes you… it was a date."

"Not any more. You made me drunk. He hates me now."

Dan set the empty coffee cup down and put his arm around me.

"That's very dramatic little sis," he told me. "I thought you didn't do boy drama?"

"I don't."

"Sounds like you are. I doubt he hates you. You guys had a good time didn't you?"

"Yes," I said crossly. "Until I got all giddy and got ice cream on my nose and…"

"And…" Dan prompted.

"And nothing." There are some things that brothers do not need to know.

I started thinking about the kiss again. I'd been thinking about it practically non-stop since I'd woken up. Well, since the coffee and painkillers had kicked in anyway. Even thinking about it triggered chest tightening, and it had been a great kiss. There weren't likely to be any more though.

Dan was looking at me with one eyebrow raised. I pushed all kiss related thoughts away, but it was too late.

"Ooooh," he began, in a perfect imitation of a middle school girl.

"Shut up."

"Summer and Tyler," he sung. "Sitting in a tree. K I S…"

"I said, shut up!" I stood quickly, but Dan grabbed my arm before I could storm out.

"Summer, I'm sure he doesn't hate you. As long as you didn't throw up in his car or anything?"

I must have looked horrified.

"Did you?" Dan asked, looking a little worried.

"I don't remember," I breathed out, aghast. That would have just topped the night off. "I don't remember anything after we got in his car. I don't even know how I got back to my room."

"Perhaps you should ask him," Dan suggested.

---

It took me most of the day to summon up the courage to find Tyler. When I knocked on his door there was no answer, and he wasn't in the common room. Just before sunset I finally found him cleaning out his car.

"Oh god," I said before he could turn around. "I'm so sorry."

He smacked his head on the roof above the passenger door as he tried to turn and stand at the same time.

"Oh crap, sorry sorry sorry." I apologised frantically over his swearing.

"It's fine Summer," he said finally, rubbing the back of his head.

"I just wanted to apologise for last night," I bit the inside of my lip. "I don't really remember, but I think I said some things and maybe did some things…"

"You don't have to apologise, I realise that it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, but…"

"No," Tyler interrupted. "It's fine. Just forget about it." He shut the passenger door and leaned back against it, arms folded.

"Well," I said slowly. "That's kind of the problem. I don't remember much after I realised I was drunk. I didn't, well, vomit in your car or anything, did I?"

Tyler laughed. "No, we managed to stop in time. You missed the car and just hit the asphalt."

"Oh," I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or relieved. "Was there anything else?" I cringed, but, perversely, had to ask.

Tyler smirked. "You told me I had a cute nose," he informed me, "and…"

"Actually," I interrupted quickly, joining him with my back against the car and cursing my big mouth silently, "I don't think I want to know."

"Whatever," he was still grinning, "there's no taking it back though."

"But I was drunk!!!" I protested.

"Oh, so my nose really isn't cute?" Tyler almost looked hurt.

"No… yes… I mean… oh god. Fine, your nose is cute. Happy?" I leant my head back against the car and closed my eyes, half wishing I could just disappear. I could have, if I really wanted to, but I didn't use unless I had to. Embarrassment sucks, but it's not exactly a life-threatening situation.

"Yours is pretty cute too." I half opened one eye to see that Tyler was now standing in front of me. The sun was setting behind him, producing some pretty corny movie lighting. Would have been a nice effect, if I weren't such a cynic.

"Thanks," I said, closing my eyes again.

Tyler leaned in a little closer. "Even without ice cream," he whispered in my ear.

Before I could feel embarrassed, before I could even open my eyes, I felt his lips on mine. I tensed a bit in surprise and felt Tyler hesitate. But there was no way I was going to let him end this kiss. I made a mental note to tell him to always finish what he started and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him back onto me against the car.

Everything was right in the world.


	11. Chapter 11

**Witch Hunt**

I own nothing. Not a big fan of this chapter, but the plot needs to advance every now and then…

Thanks to Peril of Hope for continuing reviews. Unfortunately, I have a sneaking suspicion boyfriends are only this perfect in the movies! We can always hope though :)

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

It got dark. My stomach was making 'feed me' noises. Actually, it could have been Tyler's stomach with the noises - we were wrapped so close that it was difficult to tell. He slid his hands down my arms to tangle our fingers together and stepped back slightly.

"You sound hungry," he smiled at me. So it was my stomach. Cue slight embarrassment.

"Wasn't really up to eating this morning," I explained. "Coffee isn't exactly filling."

He nodded. "Cafeteria?"

"Sure."

Tyler held my hand as we walked back into the school.

"You sure you want to risk that?" I asked him.

He looked slightly puzzle.

"You know, concrete boots? Swimming with the fishes?"

"Oh!" he laughed. "I think you're worth the risk."

Even though I hadn't been looking for compliments, it was flattering to know that he would risk my brother's (joking) wrath for me.

We grabbed food and found an empty section of bench to sit on. Cafeteria food is the same the country over. I guess all the fees we were paying weren't finding their way to the kitchens. Or maybe it's just that having to mass-produce food for hungry teenagers doesn't lend itself to culinary brilliance.

Whatever.

I leaned close to Tyler to hear him over the buzz of conversation and the clatter of cutlery.

"I've been thinking about what you said about Reid," he told me around a mouthful of lasagne. Charming.

"Really?"

He looked a bit surprised. "You're not going to cry drunk on that too?" he asked.

"Well, the whole bagging out your best friend thing, yeah. Sorry. But I meant what I said about Jess. Maybe not the evil bit…" I trailed off. Didn't really know what to say without it sounding all conspiracy-theory.

"Reid has changed," Tyler said seriously. "But it's been, what, a week? I just figured it was a new girl thing."

I put down my fork. "I guess I don't really know Reid that well, except from class and by reputation," I conceded, "but I'm not big on coincidence. And she just seems… suspicious."

He looked at me.

"It sounds paranoid, I know."

"Kind of." At least he was honest.

"Just, well, keep it in mind?" I asked.

"We'll keep it in mind together," he told me.

---

We were officially a couple pretty soon after that. Not that we talked about it - I'm no good at relationship talks, feelings and all that stuff. I mean, I feel, I'm just not into talking about it. But we hung out a lot, held hands and even snuggled a bit in public. Did couple-y stuff.

Kate informed me in early February that school gossip had us as 'serious', and Tyler as officially off the market. Not that I cared what their plastic asses thought about me, but it was cool to be publicly acknowledged as serious.

Our extended group (The Sons, Dan and I, Kate and Sarah) hung out quite a lot too. Caleb's mansion had a really cool room, though it was a little odd to step through from a lounge decorated with deer head and gilt furniture to a room containing foosball, fridge, couches and a pool table. We spent a lot of weekend nights at Nicky's. Spenser couldn't really stop us, and the Sons were allowed to do pretty much whatever they wanted anyway.

Jess and Naomi were at Nicky's a lot too. Reid and Jess seemed pretty exclusive, though he was getting more distant from us by the day. He brought Jess to Caleb's a few times, but although the girls and I honestly tried to befriend her, she was hard to like.

And I was totally suspicious still. Their winter vacation should have ended after a couple of weeks at the most, but they didn't leave. When I asked at Caleb's one night, Jess told me they'd decided to take the semester off and help out with some family projects. She was really vague – just tried to laugh it off. When I pressed a bit, she got pissed and went to talk to the boys over foosball. Reid glared at me.

She didn't come back to Caleb's though.

I was most worried about Dan. He'd starting using. Not much to begin with, but we'd been brought up hardly ever using, so even that was unusual. He went out with Naomi more and more often, sometimes doubling with Reid and Jess, and often neither of them was to be found in classes the next morning. He'd already gotten into Harvard, but it wasn't like him to slack off. I talked to Tyler about it, but the Sons seemed to a have a more relaxed attitude to the power – a little fun was acceptable. And Dan wasn't using anywhere near as much as Reid.

---

The weather was finally improving when I decided that it was time Dan and I had a serious talk. He'd taken to sitting with Reid in Lit, so I had to grab him across the stream of students escaping the room at the end of class.

He looked a little surprised as I dragged him off to the side of the door. I plastered a smile on my face.

"Hey little brother, fancy a walk?"

He scrunched his eyebrows (I could almost see his 'crazy sister' thoughts) but nodded. We left our bags in my room on our way down to the woods.

Dan stuck his hands in his pockets and kicked at the ground as we walked. I wondered how best to approach our talk.

"The sun always makes me feel better about life." Great beginning girl.

"I guess," Dan told me.

Right.

"How's Naomi?"

"Good."

Honestly.

"You two seem to spend a lot of time together."

"I suppose."

Maybe if I shut up he'd talk more.

You know, a meaningful silence.

Except I hate silence.

"More than any of the girls in New York."

"Hell Summer, you're not still going on about this?!" Dan stopped and turned on me. Exactly what I didn't want.

"About what? I'm just saying that you must really like her!" I took a few steps forward, but Dan stayed where he was, arms crossed.

"No you're not! You're about to start telling me how 'strange' they are, and how I should stay away because they want my power or something equally paranoid!"

I turned back to him "Well, you have to admit…"

"No! No I don't have to admit," he cut me off. "They're really fun girls to hang out with. Not witches, not evil, just cool girls. Stop looking for conspiracies!"

"I'm not!" I protested. "I just don't trust them. Particularly Jess, but Naomi's her friend. Shouldn't they be back in Texas by now?"

"They've decided to take the semester off. Jess told you that before you started being rude the last time she was at Caleb's."

"Fine. I just wish you'd be careful!"

"There's nothing to be careful of!"

"Yeah?" I was so angry. Even when we were arguing we used listen to each other. I tried to calm down, speak normally. "What about how much you've been using?"

"Fuck Summer! I haven't been using that much! Way less than Reid. Even less than the others. What's your problem?"

"My problem is that we've never used this much before! Who knows what might happen?"

"Nothing will happen. You're so uptight! We've got power. How stupid is it not to use it?"

"Not as stupid as using it!"

"Look at the Sons! They use sometimes. You just have to be in control."

"So you're just going to ignore how Mom and Dad brought us up?"

"Mom and Dad didn't know anything. There's nothing wrong with using a bit. Maybe they'd still be alive if Dad wasn't such a wimp about the Power!"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I was shocked. Not that the same thoughts hadn't crossed my mind, but to actually say it?

"Close your mouth, Summer," Dan sneered. "And stay the hell out of my life!"

"You are my life Dan!" I was on the edge of tears. I couldn't see properly, but I didn't want to cry in front of Dan. "You've changed, but you're still my brother."

But he didn't hear me, or at least didn't respond. He was already walking back toward the school.

I broke and stumbled back a few paces to the nearest tree. Sliding down the rough truck, I gather splinters through my school shirt without even noticing. And cried.


	12. Chapter 12

**Witch Hunt**

Thanks iheartdean, worstwitch and Peril of Hope for reviewing. And I made my Saturday deadline!!!

* * *

Tyler found me. I don't know how long I sat against that tree, but I was shaking when he knelt beside me. Anger? Cold? I'm not really sure. Very gently, he lifted my chin to look at me. I'm sure I looked fairly awful. I certainly felt it. He wore his concern openly on his face.

"Summer?" he asked softly.

I sniffed and wiped my eyes quickly with my shirtsleeve.

"I'm fine," I managed, biting the inside of my lip, praying I could hold back my tears. I really hate people witnessing me in weakness. I like my tough mask. I don't want anyone to know that I'm vulnerable.

"No you're not."

"I am," I sniffed again.

"For starters you're freezing, I can feel you shaking," he told me.

I shrugged.

"Can you stand up?" he asked.

I nodded, and started to struggle to my feet. Tyler rose swiftly and pulled off his school blazer. Ever the gentleman. He went to put it around my shoulders but stopped.

"Summer, you're bleeding."

I craned my neck around to see my back. My shirt was pretty much ruined – the tree had ripped holes through it and my skin.

"It's ok," I told him. "It was just the tree. And it doesn't hurt."

He didn't look happy, but covered me in his blazer anyway. It was warm and smelled of him, and I snuggled into it.

"Do you think you can come back up to school with me?" he asked.

More tears threatened. There's something about honest concern that triggers the attention-seeking, manipulative little girl in me. The 'if I cry now, I'll get attention and/or my way' reflex. I shook my head at Tyler.

"I don't want them to see me like this."

He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"What if we could sneak you passed them to your dorm?"

I had no idea how he planned to achieve this, but nodded my agreement.

I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw his eyes flash amber then go black.

"N…" I started to protest, but he took my hand and suddenly we were standing in my dorm room. I glanced around quickly – no sign of Gemma, thank god. I realised that I was shaking again. Definitely anger this time.

"How could you!" I turned on Tyler.

"Wha…?" Somewhere I registered that he was shocked, but at that moment I didn't care.

"Don't you idiots even _think_ about the risk?"

"It wasn't that much…" he tried.

"What if Gemma had been in here?" I punctuated my questions by lashing out in his direction, though to be honest I couldn't really see through my tears. "Huh? You boys are all the same!"

"But…" He raised his arms to fend off the blows.

"You, Dan, Reid! Don't you get it? It's dangerous! You can't just use because you feel like it!"

"It…" he tried.

"Get out!"

"Summ…"

"Just get out!" I kept trying to hit him and push him towards the door at the same time. Then Tyler did a strange thing. He put down his arms, so that my fists connected with his chest. He didn't move though, just stood there and took it for what seemed like ages.

Eventually, I slowed my assault. I just kind of ran out of energy. I slumped against Tyler and he put his arms around me.

"I'm sorry Summer, I didn't mean to upset you," he said quietly.

I sobbed into his shirt while he hugged me.

"I'm sorry I yelled," I said eventually, after I'd regained some control of myself.

"It's ok. I think I understand."

I looked up at him. "I still shouldn't have yelled like that. It's just… Dan said some things. And I'm so worried about him. I know you think I'm paranoid, but there's something wrong, I swear!"

"Shhh," Tyler smoothed my hair back from my face. "I think you might be right." He gently wiped the tear stains from under my eyes. "But now you need to relax. We can worry about those stupid brothers of ours later." He kissed the tip of my nose and pulled his blazer from my shoulders. I don't know how it had stayed on during my red-haze angry episode.

"What are you…" I began.

"I just wanted to have a look at your back," he told me, spinning me slowly.

"It's not that bad," I said as I spun. "Doesn't hurt that much."

When my back was to him I heard him breathe in sharply. "You should go see the nurse Summer. Your shirt's all torn, so I can imagine what your back looks like."

"I don't want to see the nurse. I don't want anyone to see me looking like this." I told him firmly. "I'll be fine." I turned back to face Tyler.

He looked pretty concerned.

"I'm fine!"

"Does this hurt?" he asked, running his hand up my back.

I flinched guiltily.

"Your back must be full of splinters. And you won't be able to get them out by yourself."

I bit my lip. I couldn't ask Dan, certainly didn't want Gemma to know, I wasn't even sure I wanted kind Sarah to see me like this.

"Could… you do it?" I asked hesitantly, staring at the floor.

I wasn't sure why asking him was such a big deal. Any of the other guys I've been with, I just would have demanded. But with Tyler, everything was different. The way things happened, the way I felt, him. I was royally afraid of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing and losing him. And I was afraid that that afternoon might have been the wrong thing. It made me feel so vulnerable, how much I was afraid of losing him.

"If you want," Tyler said.

I nodded.

"Sure?" he tilted my chin up slightly and stared into my eyes.

"Please?" I asked.

"Ok," he agreed. "But you'll have to take your shirt off. I can turn around til you lie on your bed."

True to his word, he stepped back and turned around to face the door. A random, un-vulnerable Summer thought flicked through my mind – chivalry ain't dead. I pulled off my shirt and kicked off my shoes quickly then flopped down face first onto my bed.

"Can you lock the door?" I asked through my pillow. "Don't really want anyone to see this."

"It's been locked the whole time. Embarrassed to be seen with me?" he asked, jokingly I hoped. I raised my head from my pillow.

"Never. Just embarrassed to be seen crying when you pull the tree out of my back."

"I won't tell as soul," he promised. "Have you got tweezers or something?"

"In the cupboard above the sink."

And slowly, as Tyler painstakingly pulled the splinters out of my back, the mood lightened. I started to feel stronger – less like a loud noise would bring me to tears. Tyler started making little jokes, and as he pulled out the last twig (I'm serious, it was huge) I laughed.

"All done," he told me. "Should put some antiseptic on all the scratches though."

Without thinking, I flipped myself over to look at him. He was sitting comfortably on my bed, resting his weight on one hand so that he was leaning over me. I watched as he blinked several times, then I realised that I was lying on my bed in just my bra and school skirt (sexy, I know) with serious hotness propped not a foot above me.

He carefully put the tweezers on the table beside my bed, eyes on mine the whole time, and then swallowed.

"Are… are you ok?" he asked.

"Better." My voice had, for some reason, dropped about an octave. The butterflies in my stomach were on ecstasy, dancing wildly to the thumping bass coming from my chest.

There was some serious inner torment playing across Tyler's face. His eyes flicked backwards and forwards across my body, until finally he swallowed again. I watched his Adam's apple in fascination.

He moved to bring his weight across the bed so that he wasn't leaning over me anymore. "I should…" he began.

In that moment, my feelings towards school ties changed forever. They were no longer hated objects to be thrown across the room at the end of each day. Instead, it was the perfect thing to grab a much too chivalrous boy by and pull him back where we both wanted him to be.

* * *

A/N I think perhaps Summer is a bit bi-polar in this chapter. If I were a guy, I'd suggest that it was 'that time of the month'. Thoughts? 


	13. Chapter 13

**Witch Hunt**

3 reviews!! Yay :) Things are finally going to start happening, I promise. As much as I love dwelling on Summer/Tyler, I realise that we need a story. So soon, all the evilness will be revealed...

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

Later, I lay face down on my bed with Tyler propped on one elbow beside me. His fingers traced patterns around the scratches on my back that tickled and felt really good at the same time. His shirt had come undone at some stage during our little session so that the cuff traced an identical pattern a few inches lower. Apart from my school shirt and his tie though, we were mostly still dressed. 

"I want to ask you a question," he told me. "But you don't have to answer."

"Ok," I said slowly, turning my head to face him.

"What happened in the woods?"

I sighed. "It deserves an answer," I decided. "I wanted to talk to Dan. He's been acting so strangely lately. So I got him to come for a walk with me. But we started arguing, and he… said some things. What he said upset me, but even that we were fighting was horrible. We've never fought like that before. He's changed. And it kind of scares me, because we've always been so close. He's the only family I have left really."

Tyler was silent.

"I mean, there's my gran, but… we don't really get along that well and…" I bit my lip. Tyler clearly didn't need to know about my gran.

"You really think there's something wrong, don't you?" he asked finally.

"Yes. Dan's changed. And I didn't know Reid very well before, but he seems to be worse too."

"I've been trying to talk to Reid for a while," Tyler said, brows sunk in worry. "But he gets pissed as soon as the conversation turns serious."

"Like Dan did."

"Yeah. I… I think maybe you're right about those girls. Reid's really not himself. He's always used more than the rest of us, but he used to have it under control. I think he's totally addicted now."

"We should do something," I decided.

"Yeah, but what?"

I sat up, thinking.

"We can't confront them. We need proof. We need to know exactly what they are," Tyler continued.

I nodded. "So we find out," I told him. "What do we know?"

"Not a lot," Tyler moved to sit next to me. "They must know something about the Power, because you said Jess has seen Reid use at least once. And they have some sort of hold over Reid and Dan that makes them…"

"…angry. And makes them use more," I cut in when he trailed off.

"Yeah. I've never felt them use though. At least I don't think so. They could be witches… or just people who know about us."

"So basically we don't know a lot," I concluded. "We don't know if they came to Ipswich to find you guys. We don't know who or what they are or what the want."

"Nope."

"Hmmm."

I scrunched up my nose and thought for a minute.

"We have to go all Harriet the Spy on their asses!"

"What?" Tyler was obviously confused by my pre-teen reading references.

"You know, spy, snoop, investigate, detect!" I explained.

"Oh. Don't you think that's a bit… unethical?"

"Yeah, but so's holding our brothers hostage. We have to resort to their tactics." I was kind of excited about the idea really. I always wanted to be a detective when I was a kid.

"I guess." So obviously Tyler wasn't quite as thrilled as I was. I glanced around my room looking for inspiration.

"We need…" I bounced across to my desk. "Notebooks and pens!" I flourished the offending items. "And dark glasses! And coats with big collars!" I perched my big sunglasses on my nose and pulled a jacket from my closet. Tyler held my notebook and pen while I slipped the jacket on and pulled the collar up so that it touched my nose. He grinned.

"Sounds like a plan Agent Jones. I can still tell it's you though, cos I can see your cute nose."

"Oh no!" I feigned horror. "Her nose exposed her!"

Tyler laughed.

"So Miss Nosey, where do we start snooping?"

I scrunched up my nose again and spun around, searching for our first clue.

When I saw it near the door, my good mood popped like a balloon.

Dan's bag.

It was sitting next to mine where we'd left them before our walk in the woods. If we were serious about finding out what was wrong with Dan and Reid, it would be a good place to start. And now was the perfect opportunity. I glanced at Tyler, then the bag, then back to Tyler. He noticed where I was looking and collapsed back to sit on my bed.

"Our first moral dilemma," he said.

"He'll never know?" I offered.

"True. But it's not a very moral thing to do."

"But what if there's a clue in there. Like a letter from Naomi, or…"

"He's your brother," Tyler told me. "Your decision."

I took a deep breath and pulled the bag into the middle of the room, closer to Tyler.

"He'll never know," I repeated, trying to convince myself.

I chewed my bottom lip as I slowly pulled it open. It honestly seemed plain wrong to be going through Dan's things. I couldn't imagine how angry he'd be with me. I would have been livid had the situations been reversed. But Dan (I decided silently), like it or not, needed saving.

I peeked inside. Books, textbooks, loose paper. Deeper down I found pens, gums wrappers, other rubbish…

A glint of silver caught my eye. I shook some crap out of the way and pulled out a silver pendant that was about the size of a wren's egg, though flatter. An intricate pattern of wire, twisted together within and oval frame, held a polished black stone in place. And extra twist of wire was obviously meant to hold the thing to a chain.

It was heavier than it looked, and must have been pretty well-made to survive the depths of Dan's bag. I held it out for Tyler to look at.

His eyes narrowed.

"Reid's got something like that," he said quietly.

I looked back down at the pendant. It suddenly felt incredibly sinister in my hand.

"He wears it on a chair under his uniform," Tyler continued. "Only takes it off for training."

"I think," I said slowly, "we have our first clue."

"Yeah. But what are we going to do with it?"

"We…"

I was interrupted by a knock at the door. I slid the pendant into my pocket.

"Come in!"

"The door's locked," came the reply.

Dan!

I looked at Tyler, who shrugged (helpful!) and decided that Dan sounded distinctly less angry than earlier in the afternoon.

I crossed my fingers behind my back and stood to let him in.

He closed the door behind him and glanced around the room, frowning slightly as he took in my dishevelled appearance and Tyler's unbuttoned shirt. Thank goodness I'd put a jacket on.

"What?" I asked him. I can't say I was full of sibling love. Tyler had calmed me down, but it was hard to just forget what Dan had said.

"I… ah, came to apologise," Dan stammered out.

I could feel Tyler's discomfort even as I continued to stare at Dan.

"I haven't been myself lately, I know and I said some things this afternoon that I really shouldn't have. That I didn't mean," my brother continued slowly, eyes flicking nervously around the room. "But I went for a long walk, and it really cleared my head. I feel a lot…"

His eyes settled on the floor near where I was standing. I glanced down.

Fuck.

Dan's school bag lay open for the world, and worse still Dan, to see.

Shitting hell arse fuck.

It felt like slow motion. I tensed. I heard Tyler's sharp intake of breath. Dan exploded.

"What the FUCK Summer?"

"I…"

"Don't even fucking _try_ to get out of this. God, and here I was coming to apologise! I've been beating myself up about this afternoon while you…"

He grabbed his bag and looked inside.

"How could you? I'm you fucking brother! I thought that meant something! Like trust! And Tyler?"

"Don't bring Tyler into this!" I cut in.

"He's here isn't he? I thought he was better than this. Hell, I thought _you_ were better than this! Did you take anything?"

Before I could reply he turned his school bad upside down so that the contents spilled across the floor.

"Go on! Have a good fucking look!" Dan yelled at me. I watched his eyes scan the mess on my floor and narrow. He peered inside his now empty bag, eyes flashing black. I flinched.

"You took it!" he advanced on me. I've never been scared of Dan before, but at that moment I was terrified. He seemed suddenly a lot bigger than me, and standing over me seemed capable of anything.

"Don't move a muscle, baby boy," he menaced, without ever taking his eyes from mine. He reached out a hand and almost casually threw Tyler back onto my bed. I gulped.

"Did you take it?" he asked quietly.

Staring up into his eyes I couldn't think, couldn't look away, couldn't breathe. His anger tore through the barrier we normally kept between our minds. I'd never felt anything so black and full of hatred. Dan didn't feel like Dan any more.

I felt the weight of the pendant lift from my jacket pocket and watched in absolute horror as it floated away from me into Dan's outstretched hand. He grabbed it and with another careless flick of his wrist gathered the mess on my floor back into his school bag.

"Don't you _ever_ come near me again," he threatened, still staring blackly down at me. "You're not my sister."


	14. Chapter 14

**Witch Hunt**

Sorry sorry sorry for the lack of updates. Uni's been mad crazy. This is just a short chapter to keep you going. figured some was better than none. More soon!! (Particularly if you review)

**Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

I don't think I slept at all that night. I lay curled in a ball with Tyler's arms around me. When Gemma walked in later she did the nicest thing she's ever done – turned around and walked straight back out.

I felt Dan use a lot, and every time he did fresh guilt squeezed more tears into my eyes. I knew it was my fault. There's no defence for rifling through other people's stuff. Especially people who trust you. I felt awful.

Tyler lay there with me the whole night. It was the best thing he could have done. I didn't want to be comforted with words – I knew my actions had been wrong. But just having him there was what I needed. Silently telling me that he was still with me, that even though I'd done a terrible thing I wasn't a terrible person.

Tyler's strong arms around me were tense, and flinched tighter whenever we felt someone using.

"It's Dan," I whispered. "And someone else."

"Reid," Tyler breathed back.

---

At around dawn the using stopped. I hoped they were asleep. Soon enough I felt Tyler's breathing slow behind me and I twisted gently in his arms to watch his untroubled sleep.

---

Later, the dorms corridor fell silent and I realised that classes must have started. Still watching Tyler sleep, I chewed my lip and thought.

Ill-gotten as it was, the silver pendant was our only clue. It wasn't much help on its own. I had no idea what it was, and clearly neither did the Sons - Tyler or Reid would have recognised it. It was unlikely that the Sons' Book of Damnation held any clues – Tyler confessed to having read the book cover to cover. Our own family history wasn't recorded so thoroughly, but there were books I could look in.

Gran had them.

My Gran is… not my favourite person in the world. Obviously I love her – she's about the only family Dan and I have left. But she's caustic, snooty and used to getting her own way all the time. She's Dad's mother – the power side, not that I've ever felt her use.

I kept thinking, because I really didn't want to have to ask Gran. If the Sons didn't know, it was unlikely that their remaining elders – Tyler's and Pogue's fathers would know anything. Seemed all their knowledge came pretty much straight from the Book. Short of searching out one of the other covens (England and Japan were perhaps a little desperate at this stage) Gran unfortunately seemed to be the only option.

I kissed Tyler's nose softly and slid out from his arms. It took me a minute to find my cell under all the mess on my desk, then I took myself quietly into the deserted corridor.

"Dorothy Jones speaking," came the sharp voice in my ear.

"Hi Gran, it's Summer," I said, neutrally. She's very suspicious of cheerful people.

"Summer? I don't know a Summer." Perhaps old age had finally caught up with her. Unlikely.

"Summer Jones, your granddaughter."

"Summer Jones who hasn't called since Christmas? I could hardly call her a granddaughter."

The Christmas phone call had been painful, but at least Dan had been there to share the recriminations about families spending the festive season together.

"Sorry Gran, I've just been really busy with school. The teachers here give so much homework."

"Speaking of school, shouldn't you be in class young lady?"

"Uh, study day," I managed.

I could imagine her raised eyebrow and pursed lips.

"So Gran, how are you?"

"Quite fine, thank you. To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of this phone call?" Blunt, my Gran.

"Well, actually," I began.

"Out with it girl."

"It's kind of about Dan," I hoped this was the right approach.

"Daniel Jones, who also hasn't called since Christmas?"

"Umm, yeah."

"For goodness sake, speak properly. The word is 'yes'."

I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, Gran, Daniel Jones. My… brother," I took a deep breath. "He's been acting really strangely lately, using the Power a lot, and he and Reid..."

"Who's Reid?" Asked Gran sharply.

"It's a long story, but we're friends with another group of witches. Four boys here at Spenser – Reid's one of them."

"Very well," her tone was disapproving. I was sure I'd find out why soon, but at least she let me finish.

"Well, Dan and Reid have been dating these two girls, who are really suspicious. Everyone said I was paranoid, but I think they know about the power. Then Tyler…"

"Who's Tyler?"

"Another one of the witches." I decided now wasn't the time to explain that we were dating. "So Tyler and I found this pendant that Dan has, and he got really angry. Tyler says Reid has one too. So I was hoping we could come and have a look at some of the old books and find out what the pendant is."

There was silence for a few moments. I held my breath.

"I always discouraged your father from searching for other families. I knew it would only bring ruin."

"I don't think it's the Sons' fault, Gran."

"The Sons?"

"That's what they're called. They're from the Ipswich founding families. Everyone knows them."

"Drawing attention to themselves like that? That's atrocious. No wonder…" Gran trailed off. "Very well Summer. You may visit to look at the books. I don't suppose you could persuade your brother to come for tea?"

"He's angry Gran. I've never seen him like it. He's not talking to me."

"Very well," she said again. "I will expect you this afternoon. We will take tea at 4. Don't be late."


	15. Chapter 15

Witch Hunt

Once again, sorry for the delay. I'm not sure that I like this chapter much. I always write better when I don't know where the story is going. Now that I do know, I find writing a lot harder. But it is going places people!! More reviews quicker updates :)

* * *

Chapter 15

"Are you sure I should be coming?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah. Besides, you can't back out now." Winning argument. True too, which is always a bonus. Being as we were more than halfway, and I had no intentions of taking over the driving of the tank, Tyler's continued presence was essential.

"Gran will love you." Hopefully he was more convinced than I was.

Tyler's a gentleman, don't get me wrong, exactly the kind of guy you want to be introducing to your grandmother. Except that my Gran wasn't your average grandmother. I put my hands in my jacket pocket so I could secretly cross my fingers for luck.

"Left just up here, and then the first drive on the right," I instructed.

"Gotcha. What do I need to know about your grandmother? I mean, to make a good impression?"

I chewed my lip as we turned down Gran's drive. "Be polite. No matter how pissed off she makes you, don't bite back. And don't even vaguely think of using. For a witch, she's dead against the power."

"Ok. Damn, this driveway's long."

"I'm sure there's some kind of relationship between the length of the driveway and the number of zeros in the bank. Just park here. Now," I leaned over to straighten Tyler's shirt collar. "Take a deep breath, we'll be fine."

"Way to make a guy feel nervous, Summer."

"Oh," I smiled guiltily. "Sorry. Does this make you feel better?" I pulled him in for a quick kiss. Which kind of kept going. Not that we were going to start ripping each other's clothes off or anything but…

There was a sharp tapping on my window.

Shit.

We pulled away from each other quickly, and I turned to see Gran staring in at me. Should have known that would happen.

I ran my fingers swiftly though my hair and got out of the car.

"Hi Gran!" I smiled and hugged her. She hugged back stiffly. Possibly I'd been too much with the cheery.

"Summer, how delightful of you to come. And to bring a friend too!" she stepped back to watch Tyler climb out of the tank and come hesitantly around to us.

"Uh, Gran, this is Tyler. Tyler this is my grandmother."

"Pleased to meet you Mrs. Jones," Tyler's hand spasmed at his side – I could see the to-shake-or-not-to-shake dilemma. I moved to stand next to him and slid my hand in to his – making the decision for him. He squeezed my hand gently.

"Tyler and I are dating," I explained, smiling at Gran.

"I believe I witnessed that just a moment ago dear. I'm sure if you'd called you would have told me."

Sarcastic old…

Smile Summer.

"Shall we go inside then? I hope the cook has prepared enough tea for our extra guest."

When Gran talks about tea, she doesn't just mean the drink. In our family, for some reason, tea is a grand event taking place sometime in the afternoon, involving cakes, slices, fruit platters, cheese and cold meats, and cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off. If you're not careful, you find yourself unable to eat for several days afterwards. There would be no chance of running low just because Tyler was there. Hell, we could have fed most of Spenser.

I kept a tight hold of Tyler's hand as I followed Gran inside, as much for my confidence as his.

-----

As predicted, tea consisted of much food and awkward conversation. It was all very polite and restrained, but Tyler did well. Finally, Gran decided that she tortured us enough and we moved to the library.

"I don't suppose you have this pendant with you?" Gran asked.

I'd hoped she'd leave us in alone in the family library – she was generally pretty good at denying anything to do with our family's talent, but no such luck.

"No, but I drew a picture." I pulled the piece of paper from my back pocket and unfolded it to show Gran.

"Hmmm," she looked thoughtful for a moment then moved to one shelf. "I think I recognise the pattern. Try these books first." She handed Tyler and I thick leather bound books. I staggered slightly under the weight until we dropped them on the polished table in the centre of the room.

"Careful," Gran scolded, taking a seat next to us with her own gigantic book. "These books are incredibly old."

I looked at the cover. _Witchcraft: 9__th__ Century edition_. In plain English. I saw that Tyler's was the 2nd century edition and Gran's the 15th.

"If they're that old, how can I read them?" I asked.

"These books weren't written in any particular language," Gran explained, more kindly than I expected. "They contain a history of witchcraft for anyone with the Power to read. Hence, they appear to you to be written in modern English."

"Do we need to read the whole thing?" Tyler asked. "The Book of Damnation just sort of knows which part we want to read."

After the slightest pause he added, "Not that I mind if we have to read through…"

"Don't fret boy," Gran cut across his nervous almost-rambling. "Place your hand on the cover and ask for witch hunts."

I followed her instructions. "Wi…"

"Silently will do fine, Summer."

I watched Tyler put his hand on his book and close his eyes.

"There's no need to reach for the power," Gran's instructions continued. "The books themselves contain more than enough magic. Just open the book, and hopefully we'll find something useful."

I opened my book gingerly to the first page. Instead of a title or introduction, the history simply commenced. I scanned the first paragraph, which seemed to be about a witch trial somewhere in Germany in the middle of the 9th century, pictures included.

"If you wished it, each of these books could provide you with a complete history of witchcraft in each century. As we wish only to research certain subjects, the magic simply edits out those parts which would be unhelpful."

"Oh," I managed. I was beginning to realise that maybe Gran wasn't as hostile of our inheritance as I'd thought.

And so we read. Turns out there was a fair bit of witch hunting going on back in the day, and these books were pretty thorough. I read about events on five different continents without really knowing what I was looking for. Mostly the hunts only caught non-witches, or witches who had turned so black that their brethren had joined in the hunt. But it seemed that the non-witch hunters had a few tricks, because every so often a real witch was caught and condemned.

Turning what felt like the hundredth page (though I wasn't that far into the book), I straightened in my chair so fast it slid backward. Gran and Tyler looked up quickly as I pointed to the page.

"There, that's it," I told them excitedly. Halfway down the page was a black ink sketch of the pendant. The pattern seemed almost exactly the same, and the stone in the middle was shaded heavily. I started to read the text around the picture.

_In the spring of 842 William Cooper of Dorset, England, became the first witch captured by the newly formed group of witch hunters. Several others of the power followed before the end of the summer. The witch hunters worked quietly, employing passive magicks to weaken their targets and protect themselves. The group had no name or identifying mark, and tried the witches secretly, so that they remained largely unheard of for more than twenty years. A witch escaped their hunt in 865, by ridding herself of a pendant (see sketch) that weakened her power each time she used._

_The coven of the escaped witch sought out the hunters, and for centuries it was believed that the witch hunters group had been destroyed (see _Witchcraft: 15th Century Edition

"Witch Hunters?" I asked.

"Of course. They have existed in various forms for as long as the Power has."

"If they hate us so much, how come they use magic?"

"Fight fire with fire," Gran said absentmindedly, flipping quickly through her book. Tyler closed his with snap.

"So that pendant is draining Reid's power. We have to get it off him," he stood as he spoke.

"Dan's too," I reminded Tyler.

"Hold up just a moment you two. There was further reference to that group in this edition," Gran scolded. "Ah, here it is." We sat back down quickly to read over Gran's shoulder.

_Witches had been disappearing throughout modern-day France for over fifty years. Often a whole coven would vanish, so that no one was left behind to spread the word. In early 1431 however, a young warlock Jean D'anvere arrived in Paris to spread the news of the reappearance of the nameless society of witch hunters. The covens of the city united and again sought out the group. The hunters again used many passive magicks to fight the united covens, but were finally decimated in the fall of 1432._

"Crap."

"Language young lady."

"So if those two girls are witch hunters they'll be well protected," Tyler summed up.

"Yes," Gran said sternly. "You must promise to be very careful. Avoid any sort of confrontation with them. If they are staying with family as you said, then it is likely that there are more of the group around."

"We have to get back to Dan and Reid," I realised.

"Fast," Tyler added.

"Yes," Gran agreed. "But do be careful. If it looks like trouble, call me. I can help."

"But you hate…" I began

"…the power?" Gran finished for me. "No. I simply respect it. As should you two. It is an incredibly dangerous gift."


	16. Chapter 16

Witch Hunt

Yes, I'm a terrible person. But uni's been busy. Exams are soon, so there will be procrastination and hopefully more chapters for you!

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

"We should ring Caleb," I said as we pulled back on to the freeway.

"Yeah. Maybe they can get to Reid and Dan sooner."

Caleb picked up after what felt like a hundred rings.

"Caleb, it's Summer."

"Hey Summer. Where have you been all day?"

"We went to visit my Gran. Listen…"

"Is Tyler with you?"

"Yeah. But…"

"What about Dan?"

"Uhh, no. Just Tyler. Why?"

"Well, Dan and Reid were missing from class today too."

"Oh." I bit my lip.

"And after last night," Caleb continued. "I'm guessing that wasn't you and Tyler."

"No. I could tell it was Dan, and we figured Reid."

"Yeah. Look, we're going to have to talk to them about it. I realise Dan's your brother, but it's getting out of hand."

"Actually, Tyler and I found something out. We found this pendant that Dan has, and Tyler says that Reid has one too. So we went to my Gran's to do some research. She has a lot of books and stuff."

"And?"

"We found a picture of the pendant with an story about a group of witch hunters." I paused, but Caleb didn't say anything. "Apparently it's like a passive magic, something in the pendant that weakens your power every time you use. And I think it might be altering his mood too. The pattern was a bit different to the picture." I looked at Tyler, who nodded thoughtfully.

"We need to find them," Caleb sounded worried.

"Yeah. But Gran said to avoid Jess and Naomi. They have other magic to protect them."

"Jess and… you think they're the witch hunters?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah. Makes sense doesn't it? Dan and Reid spend lots of time with them. And all this only started after they turned up."

"All this only started after you turned up," Caleb said gently. "And we're not accusing you."

"You still think I'm paranoid?" Boys are so… dense when it comes to hot girls.

"No, I'm just…"

"Whatever," I cut across him. "Just find Dan and Reid. We'll be back in Ipswich in about an hour."

"He doesn't think it's the girls?" Tyler asked as I flipped my cell closed.

"He doesn't want to. I don't care. I just want to find Dan and Reid."

"Find them?"

"Apparently they weren't in class today either."

Tyler's foot inched down on the pedal.

----

"Spenser, Nicky's, Reid's house," I ticked the places off on my fingers. "Where else could they be?"

"Anywhere," came Tyler's glum reply.

"Nicky said he saw them leave with Jess and Naomi late last night," Pogue offered.

I cocked an eyebrow at Caleb. "Still think I'm paranoid?"

He sighed in response.

"Come on guys, think! Does anyone know where Jess and Naomi were staying?"

"Not in town. And Reid said once the house was nearly as big as ours." Tyler offered.

"Right, so mansions. Come on guys, you own four of them, there can't be that many others in the area."

"Didn't your Gran say to avoid a confrontation?" Caleb asked.

"How else are we going to get Dan and Reid back?" I countered.

"But the four of us. Hardly a powerful coven," Pogue joined in.

"You're all ascended. I'm no weakling. We have to get them back."

The three boys were silent.

"I don't think I've ever felt you use," Caleb commented. I rolled my eyes.

"And don't I look all young and fresh like? Just because I respect the Power more than you, doesn't mean I don't know how to use it."

"Yeah, but…"

"There's a big old mansion north of here," Pogue cut across Caleb's protests. "Ipswich isn't that big, we know most of the mansion crowd, but I've never met the people who live there."

"Good, productive!" I smiled at Pogue.

"I'm not some little kid, Summer," he looked a bit cross.

"Whatever. You two take Caleb's car, we'll be in the monster truck. Do you know where he's talking about?" I asked Tyler. He nodded.

I didn't have a plan, but I wanted to get moving. Who knew what they were doing to Dan and Reid.


	17. Chapter 17

**Witch Hunt**

I had a burst of inspiration which happily coincided with a bout of anti-uni procrastination, and voila! Another chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**There were several cars out the front of the mansion. A big blue people mover was flanked by non-descript white cars with tinted windows. The house itself was definitely of mansion proportions. Heavy looking double doors sat smack-bang in the middle of the main part of the house, and identical wings made the whole place symmetrical. Three storeys of oppressive grey brick and pokey white-framed windows. It was surrounded by tufty grass and wild looking shrubbery. Certainly not my dream home. 

We'd parked the cars out of sight of the main road, and kept to the bushes on the side of the drive as we approached.

"Kind of creepy," Pogue whispered.

"I reckon," Tyler whispered back. He turned to me. "So what's the plan?"

I'd been thinking as we drove. "We have to find Dan and Reid." I began.

"Obviously," Caleb whispered.

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. "We don't technically know that they're here, but if they are we can't just roll up to the door, because Jess and Naomi know us all. I think we should start with a bit of poking around. See what we can find."

"What happens if someone sees us?" Caleb asked.

"Gauge their reaction, it might give us a clue. Stop them if they try to sound an alarm."

"Sounds fair," Pogue agreed.

I nodded at him. "You and Caleb check around the house. Tyler and I will see if there's anything out the back. And try not to use. Who knows what other horrible pendant things they might have."

"Meet you back here in fifteen minutes then?" Caleb asked. I wasn't sure if he was trying to be helpful or to regain some semblance of leadership.

"Yup."

No time to think about it anyway.

---

Tyler and I quickly skirted the house, keeping behind trees and shrubs where possible. As we rounded the edge of the wing a decrepit barn came into view. The vertical timber boards were weathered grey, and the roof was rusting.

"That's a serious-looking padlock," Tyler commented. The single, person-sized door boasted the biggest, heaviest padlock I'd ever seen. There were no windows.

Who builds a barn with a door too small for horses and tractors? I may be a city-slicker, but it struck me as odd.

"Definitely suspicious," I agreed. "But there's no way we could get through that lock without using."

"There might be some sort of magic on it," Tyler said quietly. "We should check around the back."

Between the barn and us lay fifty feet of open gravel. We'd have to make a break for it.

I smiled at him and grabbed his hand quickly. It was warm and strong, and together with his eyes on mine, I felt reassured. He arched an eyebrow and we took off for a messy pile of chopped wood that sprawled down one side of the barn.

We arrived at the same time and crouched down with the pile of wood between us and the house.

"Keep moving," Tyler whispered and turned toward the back of the barn, keeping low. I followed him and we ran bent double, commando style around the back of the barn.

No other doors.

I stood, fairly confident that we couldn't be seen, and surveyed the area. The forest started only a few feet from the back of the barn, so there were no other buildings to check.

"How do they get cows and stuff into their barn?" I asked absently.

"Something makes me think the barn's not meant for cows," Tyler replied. I turned to watch him running his hands along the barn wall.

"You'll get splinters."

He ignored me and pushed at one of the timber slats. It creaked and gave slightly under his palm. He frowned and tried another. It didn't budge. After a couple more he apparently found one that he liked. It creaked and he pushed harder. There were several small snapping noises and the whole board bent inwards. He leant his shoulder against the next boards and shoved. I almost jumped at the loud crack and then had to grab at Tyler's arm to stop him falling forward into the barn. When he regained his balance we peered inside.

Couldn't see a thing.

I looked sideways at Tyler, who shrugged and stepped through our new door.

Once we were clear of the gap, the late afternoon light that trickled through was enough to dimly light a ten-foot radius around us. The floor was surprisingly clean looking concrete, but I couldn't see much else. There was no sign of hay, or you know, farm equipment. I realised that the place wasn't a farm, but I didn't know what else to expect in a barn. I'd lived in New York my whole life for crying out loud.

"We need light," I commented.

"Didn't think I'd need a torch at your Gran's, sorry."

"Yeah, me neither. We…"

I was interrupted by sounds from the other end of the barn.

"Shit, what was that?"

I was suddenly terrified beyond reason. Gran's warning about avoiding confrontation flashed in neon lights at the front of my thoughts.

_But we can get out_, I told myself. _All we have to do is turn around and go back through the hole in the wall. All I have to do…_

But I couldn't turn around. I couldn't make my feet move. I could only feel two things. The blood pumping frantically through my body, and fear. Freezing, blinding fear.

At this point I'd like to mention that I'm not a timid kind of person. I can watch horror movies til the cows come home, or whatever. When our parents took us sky-diving, I jumped first. No worries.

Which made the whole terror thing even more, well, terrifying. I reached out for Tyler's hand and glanced sideways at him. His eyes were scrunched shut and he looked as frozen as me. When I found his hand it was shaking, and I could feel his pulse racing as fast as mine.

We were still standing there together, trembling and immobile, when the barn lit up.


	18. Chapter 18

**Witch Hunt**

I should be doing assignments, but all your wonderful reviews got me motivated. And Tyler is much more fun than engineering design principles and microprocessors.

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

I blinked and squinted in the bright light that flooded the barn, but I still couldn't move. When my eyes had adjusted I looked around. A few plastic chairs were stacked against one wall, and planks of wood along the other. It looked pretty innocent, like a really crappy community hall or something. Except…

I bit my lip.

Standing by the open door at the other end of the barn was Jess. A tall blonde man stood beside her, one hand on her shoulder. She looked at me and smiled.

"What have we here?" she asked lazily. "Another one of the famous Sons of Ipswich. And his cute little girlfriend."

If I'd been less terrified, I would have gritted my teeth. I'm not _little_, or _cute_. As it was, I wouldn't have been able to stop my teeth chattering long enough to grind them.

"Trespassing's a crime, you know," Jess calmly informed us. "And it looks like you've done some criminal damage too." She paused, as if waiting for us to respond. When we didn't, she continued. "Oh, I forgot, you've met our friends. They can be rather… terrifying."

Jess glanced to her right and my eyes followed.

Standing in a corner were two sad-looking people dressed in old clothes. I'm no expert, but when I say old I mean centuries old. The boy was in cut off pants and a loose shirt with ruffles. The woman wore a long grey dress and a dirty white apron, with a threadbare shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

But more than the clothes, something about them seemed wrong. Powerful, but not quite there.

I suddenly realised that they were the source of my fear. It emanated from them. It _was_ them. I found that I couldn't look at them and longer.

"Darklings," Tyler whispered beside me.

Jess laughed. "Not quite little witch. Think of them as an improved version. Mark II."

"Now Jessica," the man behind her spoke for the first time. "This is not a game."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. But if one of them is here, I bet the other two are as well. Which means we have the whole set. The famous Ipswich coven, and their new friend. No one's caught this many witches since, well, ages."

As she spoke she walked the length of the barn towards us. I wanted desperately to run, but I couldn't think clearly, certainly not well enough to move. She pulled a metal ring from her pocket and slid it over Tyler's free wrist before he could react. I heard it click and noticed that it look a bit like a single handcuff. But with dark polished stones set around the edge.

"Yes, Jessica. You and Naomi have done well. But the job is not yet complete. We have this one, but two still remain at large. And they all must be tried and punished." He looked across to the darkling things and pulled a rough gold-ish stone from his pocket.

"Find the other two," he commanded. The sad ghost things disappeared, and slowly the fear started to fade. I felt Tyler's grip tighten in mine.

Good idea, time to leave. I was about to reach for the Power when the man spoke again.

"Don't bother to try your power, boy. It won't work inside this barn."

Boy? What about me?

I couldn't feel the Power though. My fear returned, real this time. I don't use a lot, but the Power is always there. I've been able to feel it since I was fifteen. It's like…warmth maybe. You hardly notice that you feel it until it gets really cold. But imagine you lived on some tropical island your whole life, so you'd never felt the cold. Then someone took you to Antarctica. The cold, the lack of warmth, would feel completely unnatural. Terrifying.

I spun around, hoping to sneak back out Tyler's 'door', but Jess was standing in the way. Tyler stepped in front of me and tried to push Jess out of the way. Not exactly gentlemanly, but I totally didn't care. I wanted out.

Jess didn't move when Tyler shoved her. I must have looked surprised, because she sniggered. The girl might have been curvy, but there wasn't a lot of her and Tyler's got some nice swimmer's muscles. She should have gone flying.

Instead Tyler suddenly clutched his head and groaned. I turned him around to face me and searched for his eyes under his hand.

"Are you ok?"

"Hurts," he managed through clenched teeth.

"How touching," Jess smirked.

Ignoring her, I took Tyler's free hand. I didn't know what to do. After a moment he sighed and relaxed, hand dropping to his side.

"You should come with us," the man said, in a very 'not a suggestion' kind of voice. "Do not think to escape. The cuff will block your power, and if necessary repeat what you just experienced."

Why don't I get one?

"And you, girlfriend and sister, we would ask you not to attempt to escape or rescue your friends. I am sure you do not wish us to have to harm them, or you. Once the trial is over and punishments delivered, you and I will speak to decide your future."

He was treating me like some kind of useless girl! As if I didn't have any power of my own. _As if I didn't have any Power of my own_.

He didn't know!

I glanced at Tyler as we followed the blonde man out of the barn and back toward the house, still gripping hands.

It made a twisted kind of sense, I decided as we walked. The witch hunters were here looking for the witches of Ipswich, who were all male. The Sons hadn't even realised there could be female witches until they'd met me. (Which in itself was a little mad, witch being generally feminine and all). Assuming the hunters had information on their 'coven', they would be looking for males. Dan was kind of a bonus.

Plus, as far as I knew, the Power was only EVER passed on to the eldest of each bloodline. The fact that Dan and I had both inherited was completely unheard of. So they wouldn't even consider more than one child getting the Power. As long as Dan hadn't mentioned it ('Oh, by the way, my sister and I are both witches! Should I have fries or a salad do you think?'), they wouldn't know. Once trapped, I knew Dan would never sell me out. And I was pretty sure Reid could keep his mouth shut too.

They didn't even suspect!

The man led us through into the back of the house and down a steep flight of concrete stairs. The underground part of the house consisted of several rooms, as far as I could see. As if there wasn't enough room on top of the ground. All the doors off the room we had descended into were closed. The man opened one and indicated we should go in.

With little choice, we followed his hand movement. I glanced around the room.

"Dan!" I breathed.

At the same time as Tyler's, "Reid!"


	19. Chapter 19

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I am a terrible person, I know. But there were exams, then backpacking around Europe. But I'm back now. Hopefully you're all still reading...

**Witch Hunt**

**

* * *

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**Chapter Nineteen**

Dan didn't look so good. Although there were no physical injuries he both looked pale and… drained. Weary and somehow gaunt, though it had been less than a day since I'd seen him. He wore remnants of his uniform – crushed pants, shirt half unbuttoned, scuffed shoes. His dark hair was sticking in all directions as if he'd been running angry, worried and then defeated hands through it. He was slumped in one corner, one arm resting across his knees so that he could stare at the metal bracelet that hung from his wrist. He looked up slowly when I called his name and I rushed over to him.

"Are you ok?" I didn't know what else to say. I dropped to my knees in front of my brother and reached to lift his chin so that I would be able to see into his eyes. He flinched away from my hand so that the back of his head smacked against the stone walls.

"Dan?" I pulled my hand back in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" I heard the gruff whisper and it took me a moment to realise that it was my brother speaking.

"We came looking for you…"

"You shouldn't be here," Dan broke across my explanation.

"I…"

Once again I was cut off, this time by the crash and loud echoing of the door closing behind me.

"You shouldn't be here," Dan sighed again. I bit my lip.

And jumped, when a hand touched my shoulder.

"Summer?" It was Tyler of course. I'd almost forgotten him. I spun around on my knees to face him. And Reid, who looked even worse than Dan. Not just tired, but actually older.

"We're stuck," said Tyler, slumping against the wall between Dan and Reid. The three of them looked beaten.

"Not quite," I reminded him.

"How are we not stuck?"

"They didn't put one of those bracelet things on me remember? They don't know about me at all."

All three boys looked up sharply. It was the most attention I'd gotten from Dan since our arrival.

"See?" I waved my wrists in front of them for good measure. It was time for a 15-seconds-to-go-and-2-points-down pep talk.

"There's got to be a way to get those things off you," I continued. "Then there are four of us, not including Caleb and Pogue. They have magic stuff, but if we're careful we can totally escape. Come back with reinforcements. Just like in the histories."

Tyler looked thoughtful. Dan and Reid looked puzzled.

"Histories?" Dan asked finally.

"Yeah. Tyler and I went and visited Gran earlier. She let us look through some of her books. That's how we figured out what had happened…" And so I explained what we'd found out, Tyler looking thoughtful all the while.

"…And Gran's expecting a visit when this is all over." I finished.

Reid spoke for the first time. Some of the arrogance was gone from his voice, but still he obviously hadn't much enjoyed our history class.

"That's great. Why not put your nerdiness to actual use and get us out of here."

I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. Dan, give me your hand."

He lifted his arm slowly from his knees, as if the bracelet weighed a ton. I turned back to face him properly, took his hand in both of mine and closed my eyes.

The Power is so easy to reach for. It comes to you almost before you've even thought about it. It's familiar and comforting, but a total rush at the same time. Truly addictive. I concentrated on the bracelet around Dan's wrist, trying to work out how it opened and closed. With my fingers I felt a thin crack in the cold metal that must have been the opening. It didn't come apart when I pulled, so I tried using the Power.

It hurt. A lot. I gasped and Dan recoiled, bracelet intact. The stabbing pain in my head sat me down flat on my ass and I scrunched the heels of my palms into my eyes. I could almost hear Reid's sneer. Bastard.

"That's a no then?" he asked. Then grunted.

When I could open my eyes again I saw him rubbing his shoulder while Tyler glared at him. If I'd been feeling less like death I would have rolled my eyes. Or melted into my defender's arms, I'm not really sure. As it was I managed a grateful wince in Tyler's direction that quickly faded to annoyance at my obvious lack of success.

Unexpectedly it was Dan who spoke.

"At least we know you can still Use though," he said. "We just have to find a way to get out of here with the bands still on."

"I can get through the lock. But that still leaves us very much in enemy territory."

"And what about Caleb and Pogue?" Tyler asked.

"We should try and warn them if they haven't been caught already," Dan suggested.

"How?" Reid – ever supportive.

"You should know, Reid," Tyler told him. "You've Used to spy on the girls' locker rooms enough times."

"Yeah, but you can't talk when you do the ghost thing," Reid countered.

"Ghost thing?" I asked.

"Don't ask. But he's right. You really need to be able to talk to them."

"Summer," Dan interrupted. "Our Power is only limited by our imagination, and our strength. If can imagine talking to Caleb then you can do it."

Chewing on my lip, I considered. I knew he was right, but I don't Use much, so it's kind of hard imagining things sometimes. Once you've done something once, it's easy, but I hadn't really tried much.

"Go for it, little sister," Dan cajoled.

I closed my mind and reached for the Power. Once again it came too easily.

"Caleb?" I asked aloud. "Pogue?"

_Summer? _Astonishingly, Pogue was in my head.

"Pogue," I said again.

_You don't have to speak out loud._ Came Pogue's voice. _It's like yelling._

_Oh, sorry. _It was strange, thinking things without saying them, and hearing replies without actually _hearing_ them.

_What's up?_ Pogue asked.

_We're with Dan and Reid._ I told him quickly. _We got caught. They used these darkling things to make us too scared to do anything, then put a bracelet thing on Tyler so he couldn't Use. Dan and Reid have them on too. You have to go get help._

_Where are you?_

_In the basement of the house. But don't try and find us. They'll just catch you too._

_How come you're talking to us if you can't use? _Pogue asked me. I could even 'hear' the question in his voice.

_They don't know that I'm like you. I guess they only knew about you four and Dan was a bonus. They wouldn't expect two witches from one line._

_Oh. _There was a short silence.

_Pogue?_

_Sorry, I was just telling Caleb. Can't you take the bracelets off the others?_

_I tried. It hurt. Can I talk to Caleb too?_

_You could try, but I don't think he's ever done this before. He looks a bit surprised._

My mental image of Caleb surprised was almost funny. _But you have. Done this before? _I asked.

_Yeah. It's good for riding with my dad. He showed me as soon as I turned 13. Didn't realise until now that the others had never tried. But Summer, we can't leave you here._

_You can't rescue us either. You CAN'T get caught._

_True. _Another pause. _Caleb agrees we'll go for help. But you should try and get away._

_No shit._

_Sorry. Try and eavesdrop on the Witch Hunters. Ask Reid about the ghost thing. You should still be able to talk to me like this for a while, but it will get harder the further away we get._

_Ok._

_We'll be back soon. I promise._

_Ok. Thanks._

Silence.

Reluctantly, I let go of the Power and opened my eyes. Don't ask me why I always close them. I guess it just makes it easier to concentrate.

Dan, Tyler and Reid were staring at me, all line up against the wall.

"I talked to Pogue," I explained. "They're going for help."

"Good," Dan said. "But we still have to get out of this mess."

"Yeah." I turned to Reid. "Pogue said I should ask about the ghost thing?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Witch Hunt**

Sorry it's been so long. I kind of wrote myself into a corner without considering quite how I was going to get all my characters out. But just as I was falling asleep last night, inspiration struck!

And I still own nothing

* * *

**Chapter 20**

"It's the stone," I told the boys, trying to remember the exact wording of the conversation I had overheard. I'd sent an insubstantial version of myself hovering around the house, through walls until I'd come upon a little witch hunter pow-wow. Jess, Naomi, the blonde man from the barn and a properly grandmotherly-looking lady had been sitting around a brilliantly polished executive desk discussing their captives.

"It kind of… controls… those bracelets as well as the scary darkling things. The man, his name is Nathaniel, still has it, and he was not happy that they only had one. Jess called him uncle."

I let go of the Power reluctantly, allowing its strength and my accompanying feeling of invincibility slip away.

"Did you hear anything else?" Tyler asked. We were sitting along the far wall of our cell, all in a row: Dan, me leaning against Tyler, and Reid.

"By the sound of it, most of their magic here is concentrated on detecting intruders on the grounds and keeping you guys imprisoned. I don't think there's anything to let them know I'm Using."

"Makes sense," Reid nodded. "They'd have come running by now with all this telepathy and ghosting if they knew."

"Yeah." I sat silently for a moment, quite relaxed against Tyler's chest despite everything.

"I think I have a plan," I told them eventually. "You said that Chase made himself look like Caleb to get into Sarah's room?" I asked Tyler and Reid. They nodded.

I stood up, brushed the cold and the imagined dirt from my butt and moved toward the door.

"Ok," I said, not looking around. "Just go with the flow here, and look beaten."

Without waiting for a reaction I started banging on the door with my fists and yelling.

"What the…" I heard from behind me.

"Shut up Reid," my brother whispered with more ferocity that I thought him capable of. "Go with it."

* * *

My fists were beginning to get sore and I was starting to doubt my admittedly hasty plan before I heard the sounds of the door being unlocked.

"I need to use the restroom," I called as the door began to swing open. It promptly slammed shut again.

So I started banging again.

After a few seconds the door was opened slightly and I heard Jess say, "Come out slowly Summer, just you."

I slid sideways through the gap between the heavy wooden door and the frame until someone yanked my arm from the other side and slammed the door closed, only just missing my fingers. I stumbled slightly and looked around.

Jess was still gripping my arm and another man who I hadn't seen before was relocking the door.

"I'll take you," Jess told me shortly. She pulled me through another doorway that seemed to lead down a corridor, leaving the door open behind us. I trailed along behind, not exactly dragging, but certainly not rushing, trying to think through what I was about to do.

"Here," Jess pushed me towards a closed door. I turned back to her as I reached it. Checking to make sure we were out of sight of the other man as I spoke.

We were.

"I'm sorry about the way I treated you before," I began. Jess didn't soften at all. Clearly she didn't believe me.

But that was ok, I now knew we were alone. I turned back to the open door and to hide my eyes as I once again reached for the Power. I turned and wrapped Power around her mouth and legs so she couldn't cry out or run, then wished her unconscious. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows started to rise in alarm, but then slid downwards with her eyelids as sleep overtook her.

Holding her upright with more Power I turned to examine the room beyond the doorway I'd opened. It was the size of a closet, containing only a gross looking toilet and dirty washbasin. I wondered idly if there was even running water. It would do.

I gestured at Jess's floppy form and she floated, feet dragging, into the room. Hoping she would stay out for a long time, I closed the door and melted the lock with a look.

A girl could really get used to this kind of Power.

Now…

Still holding the Power I straightened my back and began walking back along the corridor slowly. As I walked I built an image of Jess around myself, melting it into me until it _was_ me. I could even feel the extra weight of actually having boobs. As I walked back into view of the other man I concentrated so that an image of the real me walked behind me. I couldn't turn to look, so I just had to hope it wasn't see-through or sprouting extra arms or something.

"All ok?" the man asked.

I nodded, not at all confident that I could imitate Jess's voice while maintaining my appearance and the holographic-me. The man began to unlock the cell door again and I suddenly realised that I didn't even know his name. He swung it open slightly and I made phantom-me walk back through the gap. I only hoped the guys wouldn't freak out too much when I dissolved in front of their eyes.

But I was free.

I walked back up the stairs behind the nameless man, breathing deeply and trying to figure out my next move. I had an objective – to get the goldish stone from Nathaniel, but hadn't had time to collect or plan details.

We emerged into a large kitchen and the man sat down heavily in a chair placed near the door we'd just come through. The room was brightly lit, and looking around I realised that it was dark outside the window. A very helpful clock hung on one wall informed me that it was past any good girl's bedtime.

_This is going to take some serious acting_, I thought to myself, remembering all the F's Mrs Martinez had given me in drama in the 10th grade.

Jess's voice – it was now or never.

"Well," I said. Passable. "I think I might go…"

"You stay right here Jessica," the man cut me off. "Your guard duty doesn't end til midnight."

Right. I knew that.

I sat down at the solid table that dominated the room.

The man didn't offer any more comment and I sighed. Seemed he was convinced by my disguise at least.

Trying to look as bored as possible I started picking at my now perfectly manicured nails and sent a thread of Power back down the stairs. Jess was still out cold, and the Power around her legs and mouth still held. I'd imagined it as a length of fabric and kind of tied it off around her, and was interested to see that it remained even when I wasn't consciously maintaining it. Of course, I hadn't stopped Using since I'd knocked her out, so possibly it would dissolve when I let go my hold on the Power.

The guys were still sitting along the stone wall of their prison. I couldn't see them, because I wasn't ghosting, but I could feel their Power, even though it was dimmed a lot by the cuffs they wore.

_Dan?_ I thought.

There was no response. I'd kind of been expecting it, figuring that if he couldn't Use, then he couldn't reply. Still, on the off chance that he could hear me, I explained my plan briefly before bringing my concentration back to my fingernails.


	21. Chapter 21

**Witch Hunt**

**Chapter 21**

The time ticked by _very_ slowly. I took the opportunity to destroy Jess's manicure, and to spread a sort of awareness through the house. It was a bit like doing the ghost thing, but more general. After an hour of experimenting I was fairly sure that there were seven people in the house, not including the guys and myself. Jess was out cold, there was the still-unnamed man in the kitchen with me, Naomi seemed to be asleep in a room with another woman, and Nathaniel, the grandmotherly lady and another man were back in the room with the executive desk.

I thought maybe I'd be able to feel the stone, powerful as it apparently was. But I couldn't.

At exactly midnight the man who'd been talking to Nathaniel came to relieve me. I said as little as possible and escaped the room. My idea of the layout of the house was a bit vague – floating through walls is quite different to having to use doorways, but eventually I found the room with the polished desk. The door was open and Nathaniel and the old lady were still inside.

"What do you want Jessica?" asked Nathaniel as I stepped through the doorway. I got the impression he and Jess didn't get along all that well.

"I was wondering if there was any progress on the other two…Sons?" I wasn't sure if they called us witches or targets or what.

"No," the old lady replied softly. She was, as I said, very grandmotherly. Soft and jowl-y and wearing her grey hair all fluffed up to make it look thicker than it really was. It was kind of off-putting actually. She certainly didn't _look_ like a witch hunter.

New tack. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No, thank you. Perhaps you should get some sleep."

I knew a dismissal when I heard one.

"Yeah," I fake yawned. "Probably." As I turned to go, I swept one last glance around the room. No sign of the rock.

_Summer? _It was Pogue's voice in my head. I walked calmly away from the creepy granny lady, hoping she hadn't noticed my flinch of surprise.

_Pogue. _I thought. _Where have you been?_

_Looking for help._

_Took you long enough._

_Yeah. My dad's out of town, and Tyler's dad wasn't at their house._

_You found him though._

_Eventually. We're still about a mile away. What's the situation?_

_The others are still locked up. The hunters are still hunting for you two. Haven't heard them mention any of your fathers._

_The others are still locked up? _Came a new voice. I leaned back against the wall of the room I was in so that I could focus on the conversation in my head. Turns out having two people in your head is not fun.

_Mr Simms?_ I guessed.

_Yes Summer. Now you said that the others are still locked up?_

_Well, yeah. I'm slightly outnumbered and they've got this stone…_

_But you're free. _Mr Simms interrupted.

_Yeah. I knocked out one of the girls and made myself look like her._

_What else can you tell us?_

_There are seven hunters in the house. They have this stone though, which controls these darklings and the metal bands that are stopping the others from Using._

_Only seven?_

_But there are more out looking for Pogue and Caleb I think._

_Tell me about the darklings._

_Well, they're not like the normal ones. _Normal darklings, that's a laugh. _They're… terrifying. They make you so scared you can't move. And, I think maybe they can find witches, at least around the house. I can't believe we just happened to stumble on them._

_Do you think that three of us could overpower them?_

_I… I don't know. I don't think it matters how many of you there are. The darklings are just as terrifying._

_Well, do you think you could get this stone?_

_Umm, maybe?_

_It seems to be the key, Summer. Without it, the hunters can't control the darklings or keep the other boys from Using. If those darklings are as bad as you say, then we can't risk getting closer._

_Ok. I'll try. I'll let you know what happens._

_Be careful. _Pogue chimed in, just as I pushed myself up from the wall.

_I will._

The Power was still in me. I'd gotten so used to it in the last few hours that I barely noticed its comforting presence. The pull to Use was still affecting me, and it kept getting stronger, but I was just accepting it. And Using.

I could do anything with this Power. But how to get the stone? Jess obviously didn't have enough clout to get the stone for herself; she didn't even seem to be in the inner circle. So my disguise wasn't going to be very useful.

I padded along a hallway until I found another bathroom. Shutting the door carefully I went to stand in front of the mirror. I bit my lip, and Jess's face did the same. Maybe… a blur of black lifted away from me and suddenly I looked like me again. I didn't even need to concentrate. As soon as I thought it, my reflection disappeared from in front of me. I held my hand up to check – no sign of it.

It was actually a little freaky, staring straight through where I knew my hand was. I did a quick sweep through the house with my new-found awareness to check that there was noone in the corridor outside the bathroom, then opened the door. Figured that a door opening by itself might give me away a little.

Nathaniel was still with the creepy granny. I retraced my steps to their meeting and stood outside, eavesdropping in person. I only heard one word – goodnight – before Nathaniel came swiftly through the doorway. I flattened myself against the wall so that we wouldn't collide. I had a quick decision to make – follow the blonde man or search their headquarters? The old lady's the leader, I decided. Hopefully she's in charge of the rock.

Luckily the door still stood open. I peered around the doorframe to watch the old lady. She was just closing one of the desk drawers. I heard a lock turn and watched as she slipped the key into her pocket, then quickly moved back out of the way as she left the room.

This was all turning out to be too easy.


	22. Chapter 22

**Witch Hunt**

I'm meant to be studying for exams at the moment, so clearly story will be written. I continue to own nothing apart from Summer and Dan. This story might actually be finished soon, although there is one more mini climax.

* * *

**Chapter 22**

Then came the scream.

Fuck.

Spoke too soon, as usual. The old lady paused in the doorway for a second, glanced back at the desk, then moved swiftly off in what I thought was the direction of the kitchen. And the cellars. As I watched her hurry away I checked on Jess.

Awake and therefore unsurprisingly, the screamer.

Screwing, fucking arse. Bollocksing damn. Hell.

I thought about knocking her out again. I was pretty sure I could do it, even from here. But the whole house had obviously heard her scream, and would find her. And figure out that she hadn't been sitting around picking at her manicure for the last couple of hours. Which didn't give me much time.

I slid silently into the deserted room. Not that there was anyone around to hear, but I was being stealthy ok? I was feeling the lock with my power before I even reached around the desk. Easy. I wrenched the drawer open and completely out of its housing, dumping the contents on the floor. I sunk to my knees and sorted quickly through the junk.

It wasn't there.

Of course it wasn't there. What witch hunter in their right mind would go chasing after a scream without their most powerful weapon?

I cursed again (I won't sully your eyes with the details), but was already up and running. Along this corridor, left, down these stairs…

I caught up with her within sight of the kitchen. I threw hasty ropes of Power at her, clamping her mouth closed, her hands to her waist and her feet together. Before she could overbalance I dragged her backward, toward me, then through the nearest doorway. I threw myself in after her and slammed the door shut.

Her soft grandmotherly eyes were wide, but not with fright. The old biddy was tough, that's for sure. I mean honestly, she'd just been dragged backwards by unseen forces and shoved in a room with an invisible person. I landed her on a conveniently placed couch and dive tackled her.

Normally, I would never have dive tackled a granny, evil or not. But the Power was pumping through me harder and faster than my own blood. I was invincible. Powerful. And angry.

I found the stone quickly enough, despite her writhing. It glittered in my invisible palm, small enough that I could wrap my hand around it. Instead, I set it carefully down on a glass-topped coffee table and stepped back. When the old lady wriggled again I tightened the cord of Power around her mouth, cutting off her air supply. Then I slammed as much Power as I could straight down on the glinting rock, imagining it splintering into a thousand pieces.

It didn't, but the coffee table did.

I dropped to the floor and began my second desperate search of the night, ignoring the shards of glass that ripped into my fingers.

Fingers that I could see.

The all-out effort that I'd put into destroying the stone had drained my power from all its other outlets. Like making me invisible. And holding the creepy granny down.

I realised this just as she pulled me back from the remnants of the coffee table with surprising strength. I clawed at the ground as she drew me back, tearing more holes in my palms, frantically feeling for the stone. When I was too far away to feel more glass I twisted and ducked, trying to rip the back of my shirt from her grip. I felt myself freed for a second, but realised that I'd managed to twist creepy granny around too so that she was between me and the shattered table.

"Witch!" she hissed at me. I didn't bother to reply, seemed kind of pointless.

Instead, I gathered more power to me and sent a ball of energy flying at her. It lifted her off her feet, over the wreckage and back onto the couch. I was back on the floor before I'd even seen her land.

There! My fingers closed around the rough stone. I didn't feel the shards of glass in my grip, or notice the blood that dripped from my fist. All I could feel was the stone.

"WITCH!" She screamed it this time.

I gazed around the room, still ignoring creepy granny, trying to think of a way to destroy the stone.

_Summer?_ Came the incredibly ill-timed voice in my head.

_Hey Pogue. It's not a good time_. I thought quickly.

_There's something happening isn't there?_

_Yeah. They found the girl I knocked out. I've got the stone, but I don't know how to destroy it._

_You've got the stone?_ Mr Simms this time. I swayed with the effort of listening to the two of them.

_Yeah. But they're after me. How do I destroy it?_

_Smash it with the Power?_ Pogue suggested.

_Didn't work._ I replied quickly.

_It's just a stone, isn't it?_ Mr Simms asked.

_Yeah. So…_

At that moment I was knocked to the floor. While I'd been concentrating on my conversation with Pogue and Mr Simms, two of the male witch hunters had responded to the old lady's screams. Nathaniel had crept, completely unnoticed by me, into the room and around behind me.

I threw him off me with the power and wiggled forward, pushing myself to my feet as I did so. I looked quickly around the room again, taking in the second man blocking the door and Nathaniel's quick recovery. I backed up until my elbows hit something cold and smooth. A window.

It took barely a thought to break the glass, and only a tiny movement backwards. Luckily (although I guess I would have caught myself with more power) it was a ground storey room.

My butt landed hard on the ground, I swear I bounced. It took me a second to get my breath back, and to check that the rough stone was still in my hand. Then I stood and sprinted quickly along the house away from the broken window, thinking as I ran.

What had Mr Simms said? _It's just a stone_.

Should be easy to break then.

But all my power couldn't do it.

Maybe…

I reached the back door. No sane person would go back in there, but with that much Power and adrenaline coursing through me I didn't even pause. The barn had been empty – that much I remembered. Which meant that my best chance lay back within the house.

Jessica, Naomi and my guard duty buddy were standing around the kitchen table when I burst through the door. They barely had time to react before I flung enough Power at them to throw them off their feet and into whatever furniture/wall was behind them.

I didn't even consciously think about it.

Instead, I moved to the large cupboard next to the cellar door and pulled it off its hinges.

Bingo. Inside was a rake, some other gardening tools, a car jack and a hammer. A nice, big, solid looking hammer. I grabbed it and moved back to the kitchen table, well aware that my other pursuers would no doubt be flooding through the back door at any second.

I placed the rock carefully on the table top, bit my lip and swung.


	23. Chapter 23

**Witch Hunt**

Sorry again. I am slack with the updates, I know. But I've decided that this baby needs finishing. If I get, say, 5 reviews for this chapter I'll post the next one tomorrow. How's that for incentive?

* * *

**Chapter 22**

This time, thank whoever, the stone shattered. A few shards went flying while four larger sections skittered across the table. Hopefully that was broken enough.

_I broke it!_ I called out to whoever was listening.

I heard a sound behind me and started to turn. I barely saw the carjack, and certainly didn't have time to react before it hit me.

* * *

I came to slowly, nose squashed into the tiled kitchen floor by the heavy weight sitting on my upper back. I couldn't focus on anything – not only because my eyes were way too close to the floor. My head hurt a lot, and the edge of my unfocussed vision was dancing with pin-pricks of light.

Huh. I was actually seeing stars. Never knew that really happened.

Weakly, I tried to move, to shift whatever the weight was off my shoulders.

"Uh uh," came a voice from above me. "You aren't going anywhere girly." The weight pressed down harder and I became aware that someone was fastening something around my wrist.

But the cuff things shouldn't work any more!

"Get the hell off my sister!" came a new voice. I went limp with relief and shut my eyes, groggy as I was. Dan was free.

There was a grunt as the weight was lifted off my back.

"Summer?" Dan's voice was closer, I thought.

"We have to get out of here." That voice was further away. Not Tyler. I settled with Reid.

"Help me," Dan again. Then there were gentle hands on either side of me, lifting and rolling me into someone's arms.

"Fuck."

"She'll be alright, but we have to get her out of here."

The movement made me groan, but things were slowly starting to make more sense. My boys had come. My brother. My boyfriend. Reid. They were taking me out of hell.

The temperature dropped noticeably and I decided that meant we were out.

"What about the others?" someone asked.

"I think Summer was calling them when she said she'd broken it. They're probably coming."

There was a crash.

"Should we leave? Do you think your car would be where you left it Tyler?"

"I guess. Caleb and Pogue wouldn't have taken it. I think we need to get Summer to a hospital." Tyler's voice came from above me.

I drowsily opened my eyes. He looked funny from that angle.

"Tyler?" I managed.

"Summer?" he looked down at me flinched. "Shit, guys, we really should go. She's not looking so great."

I think I smiled. "Are you calling me… ugly?" I whispered.

"No, no. It's fine. Everything's alright. You're beautiful. Gorgeous. Incredibly sexy. Reid leave it. We have to go." We started moving back around the house toward the driveway.

"You rescued me," I said dreamily.

"Actually, I think you rescued us. No, Summer, keep your eyes open. Come on. Look at me."

I obliged slowly. Even though I really just wanted to go to sleep. It was almost comfortable in Tyler's arms, despite the jogging, despite my pounding headache, bruised ass and cut up palms.

Tyler flinched again when I looked into his eyes.

"Summer, baby, do you think you could let go of the Power?" he asked gently.

"Hmm?"

"Your eyes are black, Summer. And I can feel it."

"No…"

"Tyler!" More new voices. I recognised this one from my head.

"Dad!"

The cavalry had arrived. We were free from that place. Free from those people who had kidnapped my family and my friends, who wanted to hurt us. I wished they were all dead, that the horrible creepy mansion was gone, kabo…

At that momenta wave of pressure hit us from behind. Tyler was thrown off his feet and landed awkwardly on top of me.

"What the fu… hell was that?!" yelled Reid's voice.

Tyler gingerly picked himself up off me. I'd closed my eyes again. It just seemed easier.

"Summer? Summer, are you…" Tyler's worried voice drifted away with the pain. I let it go.


	24. Chapter 24

**Witch Hunt**

Agh! Run! It's a monster chapter!! Run for your lives! Even though I only got two reviews (pathetic people, I know you can do better) here is the next chapter as promised. Hugs for _TaylorAlexandra_ and _szym_ for reviewing – it's nice to know someone's reading.

Also, Summer is a bit bi-polar in this chapter, but I feel that it's justified. Just be warned.

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**Chapter Twenty Four**

I woke up in someone's bed. Way too big to be my dorm room bed. And the sheets were way too soft. Even with my eyes closed I could tell it was a swanky bed.

It took a few moments for me to wake up properly. I realised that I was stripped down to my underwear, lying under warm blankets in a warm room. My head hurt, though not as much. My hands still hurt. The right side of my rib cage was throbbing.

From somewhere to my left I could hear a whispered argument.

"But Mom..."

"No buts, Tyler. You need to get some rest."

"I'll rest here."

"You can't rest properly here. You can use the first spare room."

"I'm not leaving her."

By this stage I was pretty much awake. I opened my eyes slowly, groaned at the bright light, and shut them again.

"Summer?" It was Tyler's voice. The bed dipped slightly – I assumed he'd sat down beside me.

"Yeah?" I croaked out.

"You're awake!"

"Thirsty?" I managed in response to his joyful tone.

"Yeah, sure, I've got some water, open your eyes." I turned my head to the direction of his voice and reopened my eyes.

Tyler's head swam slowly into focus, a concerned expression not matching the joy I'd just heard. He held a glass out to me as I struggled to lift myself enough to drink some. When I was sitting I pulled a hand out from under the sheets and reached for the glass.

I blinked quickly as I realised that, yes, it was my hand, so bandaged up that I could only just see my finger tips.

"Could you…?" I started.

Tyler brought the glass to my lips so I could drink. Damn, it felt good. Cool, soothing water gushing down my raw throat. When I nearly choked, Tyler took the glass away and wiped the spilt water off my chin with his fingers.

Cool, soft fingers.

I figured that I was in Tyler's room. There were a couple of posters of cars and bands on the walls, some photos of the Sons and one of me. I'd only been there once, as we spent most of our time at the dorms. I'd certainly never been in his bed before. I blushed and stared down at the dark blue bed cover.

The bedroom door swung open and a man walked in briskly followed closely by a woman. I recognised them from a photo Tyler had shown me, though I'd never met them – Tyler's parents.

His dad was tall, of average build and indeterminate age. He had thick brown hair and the same nose as Tyler. His mother was also a brunette, though much shorter and slimmer than her husband. As they hurried around the bed towards me I saw that she had the same deep blue eyes as my boyfriend.

"How do you feel, Summer?" Mr Simms asked. He went to shine a little torch into my eyes but then stopped.

"Sore," I replied, just as another person entered the room.

Gran. Her eyes didn't leave mine from the moment she entered. She was frowning as she moved around the bed to stand beside Mrs Simms.

"Summer," she began.

"Please, give me a moment to check her, Mrs. Jones," Mr Simms cut across her. Brave man.

Gran's mouth twitched once, but she remained silent.

"How's your head?" Mr Simms returned his focus to me.

"It hurts, but not as badly as before," I lifted one hand gingerly towards the sorest spot above my temple. It took me a second to realise that I couldn't feel anything because my hands were still bandaged to immobility.

"You're very lucky, Summer," Mr. Simms told me. "Any harder or lower and you might not have woken up. As it is, you lost a fair amount of blood and were badly concussed. Your hands were a mess, but I managed to get all the glass out. The explosion broke a couple of ribs, but they should heal well in time. I'm sorry, but we couldn't take you to a hospital. I haven't worked in ER since I was a resident, but we managed."

"Thank you," I smiled at him.

"Not a problem. Just make sure you don't do it again," he smiled in return. "Now, Andrea and Tyler and I will leave you to talk to your grandmother and get some rest."

"I'm not leaving," Tyler told his father.

"Summer needs rest, Tyler. So do you. You can talk to her again in the morning."

"I'm…"

"You're coming with us. Mrs. Jones needs to talk to Summer."

Mr and Mrs Simms left the room. Tyler scowled and then sighed. He kissed my cheek quickly then stood and followed them.

"Gran, can we talk la…" I began.

"We most certain cannot, young lady," Gran interrupted.

"But…" I stopped and sighed. Without anyone else in the room to shelter me there was really no point in arguing. There was no escaping Gran when she was in a lecturing mood.

She took Tyler's seat on the edge of his gigantic bed. Her eyes softened slightly and she took one of my bandaged hands in hers.

"You must never do anything silly like that again, Summer. You had us all worried."

"I'm sorry, Gran. But they had Dan and…"

"I know. But you put yourself in a lot of unnecessary danger. I shudder to think how much you must have Used during that night." And she actually did shudder. I was shocked – my grandmother was actually acting like a grandmother. It was nice though, and I let myself relax a little.

"Summer," Gran said softly after a moment. I looked up at her. "Do you realise that you're still holding the Power?"

I blinked.

But I'd only just woken up! I hadn't reached for the Power, hadn't even thought about it.

I did think about it then, went to feel for it, and realised that what Gran had said was true. I didn't need to reach for the Power, because it was already in me. Coursing through my veins with my blood. It felt so natural that I hadn't even noticed it was there.

"Oh," I managed.

"You have to let it go sweetheart. I know it will be hard, you've been holding it since Dan found you. It's probably why you woke up so quickly after you were hit. But all that's over. It's safe now. Let go."

I bit my lip. The Power felt so… right. Warm and comforting. Safe, strengthening. Seductive and alive. I wasn't sure how I would survive without it. Wasn't sure how I'd survived before. It was part of me. It was my life.

"I can't," I whispered.

"You must, Summer."

I tried, I really did. Part of me willed it away, wished it to leave. Tried to let go. But I couldn't. Another part of me, a strong part of me, wouldn't. And with that part holding on, I couldn't.

"I can't."

"Summer Jones," he voice was harder now, commanding. "Let it go!"

"I can't!" my voice had strengthened in equal measures. Suddenly I was angry. Who was this woman to tell me what to do? No one could tell me what to do! "And you can't make me!"

She stood then, looking angry and just a little bit hurt.

"Summer! Let. It. Go."

"No! I won't! I don't have to! You can't make me!"

"Summer!"

"Get out!" I pulled the door open with the Power so hard that it bounced back off the wall and swung halfway closed again. Gran didn't even flinch.

"Get out!" I screamed again. Why couldn't she just leave me alone? I used the Power to give her a bit of a shove towards the door. She stumbled a few steps and turned back to me, horrified.

"I don't want to let go," I hissed at her. "I can't."

Tyler burst into the room then, closely followed by Mr Simms and a dishevelled Dan, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Summer!" Tyler rushed to the side of the bed.

"What?" I hissed at him.

He looked hurt. "What's wrong baby?" he asked gently.

"She won't let go of the Power," Gran butted in from the end of the bed. "She's held on continually for too long. Probably since she escaped from the cellar you were all in."

With Tyler's gentle hand rubbing my arm I'd calmed down a bit. I looked at him pleadingly.

"I can't," I told him.

"Yes you can baby. I know you can."

"Since the cellar?" Dan chimed in. He looked tired. Not as bad as before, but still… drained somehow. "But she's been asleep for a whole day! How could she being Using in her sleep?"

"She never consciously let go. And she'd been Using the whole time she was in the house I would guess. She didn't even seem to realise until I told her just now."

"I'm still here you know!" I said angrily.

"Calm down baby," Tyler moved to sit next to me. I wouldn't have let anyone else close to me, but somehow Tyler was different. He made me feel safe. Like the Power, but not. So I shuffled over then leant back so that my head was resting on his shoulder.

Dan now stood at the foot of the bed with the adults slightly behind him.

"Summer," he began.

_Make them leave. _I told him. I was sick of Gran's glaring, and Mr Simms' stare was disconcerting. Dan blinked.

"But…"

_I won't talk to you til you they're gone_.

Dan sighed. I'm sure everyone else was looking at him in confusion, but I just closed my eyes.

"Summer wants you to leave," I heard him say.

"Oh, she told you that did she?" Gran bit back.

"Yeah… yes. She doesn't want to talk to you."

"She will talk to…"

"Maybe it would be best if we gave the children some privacy," Mr Simms cut across Gran again. The man must have a death wish.

"I…"

"Come down stairs Mrs Jones, I'll make us some tea," Mrs Simms offered. I heard the door close and risked opening an eye. They were gone. Only Dan and Tyler remained. Tyler looked at me with his beautiful blue eyes and I relaxed. Dan jumped the foot of the bed rather energetically for a boy who'd been asleep only minutes before and settled down on my other side.

I have to admit, it felt good. Boyfriend on one side, twin on the other.

"I know what it's like," Dan began again. "Using feels so right. You don't know how you ever lived without power in you. You're invincible. It seems crazy to tear down the walls and towers that make you strong. But you have to, Summer. You lived without it for three years. Until two days ago you never needed the Power. You remember what it was like without it. You were still strong, still safe. You don't need it. You have to let it go."

"I know," I sighed. "But I can't. I tried. I just can't."

"You can, little sister."

There was silence for a moment.

"Can… can you tell me what happened?" I asked. "After I smashed the stone?" I had a horrible suspicion about what had occurred, but I didn't remember anything very clearly.

"We could tell straight away," Dan told me. "You have no idea what it was like to be able to feel the Power again. And we heard you in our heads saying you'd broken it. I Used straight away. I think the others did too. The door on that cellar didn't stand a chance." He paused and looked at Tyler, who nodded into my hair.

Dan continued. "It took a couple of seconds to get those cuffs off, then we went upstairs. There were lots of people in the kitchen. Jess and Naomi were on the floor, still out cold. But there were three men and another woman. They didn't really stand a chance. I don't think we killed any of them, but I know I was pretty angry. One of the men was kneeling on the other side of the kitchen table. When I went around I saw that he was on you. I was so… so furious. I threw him across the room. He'd been trying to put one of the cuffs on you, not that it would have done any good. Maybe he didn't know about the stone. There was blood everywhere and you were unconscious. It was scary. We got you out. Tyler carried you."

"I think I remember that," I looked up at Tyler. "You said I was sexy."

He nodded again. "You were awake, just. But still bleeding. You looked at me and your eyes were so black. I asked you to let go of the Power, do you remember that?"

"I think so. And then there was an explosion?" I bit my lip. "That was me, wasn't it?"

"Yes. I felt it. In my arms, so much Power. More than I've ever felt I think. Then the explosion. It knocked us off our feet. I…landed on you. I think I broke your ribs." He looked down at the bedspread. "I'm sorry."

I lifted one immobilised hand to his chin. "Not your fault," I told him. "I caused the explos… the explosion." My hand dropped back to my lap.

Even though I'd suspected, it was awful to know. I'd blown up a whole house. My semi-conscious wish had been enough to kill how many people? I needed to know.

"Did… was there anyone inside?" I asked. I wanted to be able to clench my fists, dig my nails into my palms, wring my hands like they did in the old movies.

Dan and Tyler were silent.

"Tell me!"

"Dad asked at the hospital," Tyler finally said. "No one was brought in. We left a fair few people inside unconscious, but maybe the others got them out."

I sort of sniff-coughed.

"But it's not your fault Summer," Dan tried to comfort me.

"Kinda is really," I monotoned. "I didn't let go. I wished it. It happened."

"We couldn't take you to a hospital because we were afraid your eyes would still be black. But Dad fixed us all up ok. And rang Spenser to say the four of us had pneumonia. Caleb and Pogue had to go to classes this morning."

I suddenly remembered Reid.

"Reid's ok," Dan told me, as if he knew what I was thinking. I'd thought our barriers were back up, though I could feel his tiredness. "I think it matured him though, and not just physically."

"Physically?" I asked.

"He's actually almost happy about that bit," Tyler informed me. "He'll never be asked for ID again. If you didn't know him you'd think he definitely was 21."

"How are you going to explain that?" I wondered.

"Dunno. He still looks like Reid, it's not that obvious. We'll probably just blame the 'illness' that's kept us off school."

We all sat silently.

"Summer," Tyler looked down at me, all anxious eyes.

"I know. It's just hard," I groaned. "I'll try."

And so, with Dan on one side and Tyler on the other, I tried again. I still didn't want to let it go. A detached part of my mind was surprised that I could become so addicted in such a short space of time. Then again, I had effectively been Using for two days straight. Gran told me later that there was nothing in the books about anyone holding onto the Power for that long until they were in the depths of addiction, when it was more common.

Just the thought of letting go made me cringe. I wanted to be safe and strong and in control. But then I remembered the mansion, the explosion and realised that I wasn't really in control. When I finally managed to relinquish my hold, I felt so weak and so cold that it was only the strong, warm bodies of my twin and my boyfriend either side of me that kept me upright. I shook, all my muscles cramped. I felt like I wanted to throw up. Tyler and Dan each had one of my arms, and I think they were talking to me softly, though I wasn't really listening. All I could think about was how vulnerable I felt. How cold it was without the Power coursing through me. How exhausted I was. How easy it would be to Use and make it all better. My head started to throb again and my hands stung.

In short, I felt like shit and probably looked like it too.

Gran and Tyler's parents came back to the room at some stage. Reid even put it an appearance, though I barely noticed. I think my withdrawals scared him a lot. A glimpse of a very possible future.

I fought all afternoon. It was as if every molecule in my body was desperate for the Power. All I wanted was the Power. I craved it so, so much. I felt like I was going to die without it, as if there was no possible life, no possible meaning for existence without it.

Somehow, I resisted. My barriers were down, and though Dan struggled to hold something in place, he suffered through most of what I felt. Sometimes he shook beside me, but other times he leant me strength and managed to calm his feelings enough that it calmed me.

Eventually, my shaking, cramping muscles began to loosen and I started to think that maybe I could beat it. That maybe I could live without constant Using. I curled into a ball and sunk into Tyler's lap, relaxing little by little as he stroked my hair and talked gently. I realised that he was telling me stories. I drifted, exhausted, through Cinderella and Snow White, and fell asleep just as the prince was fighting his way through the thorns to Sleeping Beauty.

**To encourage reviews… should I end it here, or do you want another chapter?**


	25. Chapter 25

**Witch Hunt**

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**Chapter 25**

Graduation. A milestone in any high-schooler's life. The light at the end of the tunnel, or the end of everything you've ever known – that depends on perspective - but it's always milestone.

And we'd made it. All of us. Through long lost relatives and witch hunters, we'd made it. We'd heard nothing more from the witch hunters after that day. Generally, I tried not to think about it.

It was a brilliantly sunny afternoon. So bright that Reid complained when his mother told him that he wasn't allowed to wear sunglasses during the ceremony. She took them anyway and we all laughed. We – students, parents and grandparents – were gathered in the car park, exchanging final words before the graduating ritual. I watched, slightly enviously, as mothers fussed and fathers looked on proudly. It was a scene that was probably played out every year at every high school all over the country.

Tyler quietly slipped his hand around mine and I smiled. It wasn't a day to be cynical. I was sad that Mom and Dad weren't physically there to fuss over us, but I liked to think that they were there in spirit somehow, watching over us. Mrs Simms caught my expression and hurried over from where she'd been talking to Pogue's parents.

"Now Tyler," she began, straightening his perfectly straight robe and brushing imagined dirt from his face. He somehow managed not to fidget. "Remember to stand up straight and…"

"Mom!" he broke in. "I'm eighteen! If I haven't learnt to stand up straight by now I don't think your reminding is going to do any good. Just… calm down. It'll be fine."

"Right. Yes," Mrs Simms caught herself. "And Summer," she turned to me, reaching to adjust my cap. Mr Simms arrived magically at her side, just in time to take her hand and saving me from her fussing. I smiled at him.

"We're so proud of you both," Mrs Simms continued. I could see her hand twitch and Mr Simms grip tighten. "Of all of you. You have no idea what it feels like to be here today, to watch you all graduate."

"We have a small present for both of you," Mr Simms took over from his wife. "We realised you would want to celebrate with your friends afterwards, so we thought we would give it to you now."

Mrs Simms pulled an envelope from her purse and handed it to Tyler. He withdrew his hand from my grasp to open it. I watched his blue eyes light up and his mouth curve into a familiar grin as he took in the contents.

"Mom, Dad, you shouldn't have," he managed, though he was undoubtedly glad they had.

"What?" I asked. He grinned at me.

"Tickets. To Europe! For both of us!"

I'm pretty sure my mouth fell open at that point.

"We thought you would like to decide on specific destinations yourselves, so these are just the trans-Atlantic flights. When you decide where you want to go we'll organise the rest." Tyler's father told us.

"I… thank you," I stumbled. "It's really wonderful. But it's too much. I…"

"Now now," interrupted Mrs Simms. "We've talked this over with your grandmother, and she agrees you both need a break after… everything. There's no…"

We became aware that the rest of the milling crowd was settling to silence, and that the Provost was speaking.

The graduating class moved away from their families, still chatting and laughing. Mrs Simms retrieved the envelope from Tyler for safekeeping and we followed our classmates, gradually forming into an alphabetical line. Caleb stood at the front, even before Aaron Abbot. Spenser's golden boy was, as expected, valedictorian. The guy could do no wrong.

Dan stood in front of me – we'd agreed that D was definitely before S, and that it had nothing to do with who was older.

"Did you like your present?" he whispered over his shoulder as Caleb settled at the podium.

"You knew?" I asked.

"Gran told me. Reid and I are going road-tripping instead. His Mom bought him Porsche."

"Damn."

"Yeah," Dan chuckled quietly. "We've gotten ourselves in with some pretty spoilt company."

"I was beginning to think that."

"Good company though. It's going to be an awesome summer."

I glanced back along the line to where Tyler stood, chatting nervously with Kate. He looked up and caught me staring. We grinned at each other.

It sure was.

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THE END!! It's been epic people. Thanks to everyone who stuck with the story despite my patchy updating. Sorry there's no fluff in this chapter, but I didn't really want it to be too long. Let your imaginations run wild about the post-graduation celebrations though!

I'm kind of planning a Twlight story at the moment, so look out for that :)

girlonthehill


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